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Tamil Nadu gets 108 as new emergency helpline

Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:45:23 PM by admin ( Leave a comment )

Chennai, May 6 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Tuesday signed an agreement with the Hyderabad-
based Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI) to provide free emergency
assistance to people across the state through an integrated dialling code ‘108′. “The
programme will roll out medical emergency services along with fire emergency
assistance and in cases of police emergencies like bomb blasts and criminal attacks,” said
P.W.C. Davidar, a senior official in the state’s department of health and family welfare.

All existing emergency service numbers in the state will eventually be integrated with the
108 service, which will provide an ambulance within 20 minutes of a call. Even the
police are expected to respond to accidents, fires and criminal attacks within 20 minutes.

The emergency calls will be answered by an integrated services call centre being set up in
Chennai. The number would be accessible from a landline or a mobile phone.

In the first year, the state government is providing Rs.140 million to roll out the service.

It has also provided 198 ambulances at a cost of Rs.170 million, each equipped with a
trained paramedic and driver. They are linked to the EMRI call centre where a doctor
guides patient-care until he/she reaches hospital.

“In the first year, we expect an expenditure of about Rs 360 million and we hope to cover
the entire state with the service in the next two years” said Davidar, who is also project
director of the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project.

“It will be completely a protocol driven programme, developed by EMRI jointly with the
government. The software used for the programme has been developed by Satyam
Computers,” he added. Through this number, even the police are set to respond to
accidents, fires, crime attacks in 20 minutes.

Set up in Hyderabad in 2005 by Satyam Computers chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, EMRI

has provided emergency care to 200,000 people in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in two
years.

Tamil Nadu is the fifth state where it began operations Tuesday and EMRI will begin
operations in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh later this month.

“We hope to cover the entire country by 2010,” said Venkat Changavalli, CEO of EMRI.
http://www.devaski.com/post/2009/09/15/Tamilnadu-Emergency-Call-108-for-
Amublance.aspx

Tamilnadu, Emergency, Call 108 for Amublance

EMRI - Emergency Medical Research Institute & State Governments

If you happen to cross across any accidents & emergencies at time of the day or night, do not
hesitate to call 108 & help the victims with immediate medical assistance.

Government of Tamilnadu has implemented an Emergency 108 services, all over the state at all
district & town headquarters.
Fully equipped ambulance with doctor available around the clock at all the district & township
headquarters.

By just calling 108 & giving the exact location of the Accident location, 108 rescue team is directed
at the least possible time.
This service was already available in many other states Andhra Pradesh ,Gujarat, Uttarakhand,
Goa , Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh.

• It is a 24x7 emergency service.

• Toll Free number accessible from landline or mobile
• Emergency help will reach you in an average of 18 minutes

1-0-8 is dialed for the purposes mentioned below:

• To save a life
• To report a crime in progress
• To report a fire

108 Emergency Response Services has also signed MOU with over 6800 hospitals which provide
initial stabilization free of cost for the first 24 hours.

Types of Emergencies:

Fire
Medical Emergencies Police Emergencies
Emergencies
Serious Injuries Robbery / Theft / Burglary Burns
Cardiac arrests Street Fights Fire breakouts
Industrial fire
Stroke Property Conflicts
hazards
Self - inflicted injuries /
Respiratory
Attempted suicides
Diabetics Theft
Maternal/Neonatal/Pediatric Fighting
Epilepsy Public Nuisance
Unconsciousness Missing
 Animal bites Kidnappings
Traffic Problems ( Traffic
High Fever Jams or Rallies, raasta
rokos etc )
Infections Forceful actions, riots etc

Do not call 1-0-8 if there is no ‘serious people emergency’. It is not a number for enquiry or
information gathering. Do not play around by dialing 1-0-8 as a joke. Otherwise a call in real
emergency could be blocked and a life will be lost. If you happen to call 1-0-8 by accident then do
not hang up until the officer asks you to do so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_(number)