A Kerala ambulance model worthy of emulation across India

Only the patients and their caregivers from immediate family know what it is to be to wait for that ambulance to arrive and ferry them to the hospital – not only the time element but the costs are often astronomical – during medical emergencies.

In perhaps what can be described as a first in India, Kerala is coming up with a uniform fare for ambulance services, designed as a dependable service to the medical patients in the state.

Kerala state Road-Water Transport and Motor Vehicles Minister,  KB Ganesh Kumar, has announced the new tariff structure for ambulance services for the various categories of ambulances after many rounds of extensive consultations with ambulance owners and labour representatives. As per the agreement reached between the various stakeholders, the ambulance service will have a basic minimum fare for the first 10 kms, and no waiting charges for the first hour.

Uniform Fare Structure

As per the new fare structure, the most advanced ambulances categorized as D – equipped with ICU and ventilator facilities – will charge a minimum of ₹2,500, with an additional fee of ₹50 for each extra km and a waiting charge of ₹350 per hour. These ambulances will also provide the services of a trained technician and a doctor. Category C ambulances, which offer air conditioning (AC) and oxygen facilities, will have a minimum charge of ₹1,500, a per-km rate of ₹40, and a waiting fee of ₹200 per hour.

Non-AC traveller ambulances categorized under B will start at ₹1,000, with a charge of ₹30 per km and a waiting fee of ₹200 per hour, as per the government.

For smaller AC ambulances, such as Omni, Eeco, and Bolero, which fall under Category A, the base fare will be ₹800, with an additional charge of ₹25 per km and a waiting fee of ₹200 per hour. Non-AC vehicles in this category will start at ₹600, with a per-km rate of ₹20 and a waiting charge of ₹150 per hour. For some categories of patients, belonging to BPL famolies, will get a 20 percent discount in C and D category ambulance services and there is a Rs two per km discount for cancer patients and children below 12 years of age.

Free ambulance for accident victims

In a significant relief to accident victims, the shifting from accident site to the hospital will be totally free. The minister said, in case of accidents, the ambulancce owners have been directed to shift patients from the accident sites to the nearest hospitals, free of cost. So, from now on ambulances will shift patients involved in accidents to hospitals without charging any money, across Kerala.

And it is not just this rationalisation of fare  structure that the government has effected. It has also taken decision to improve ambulance facilities and services in general.

The motor vehicles department has been charged with providing special training and certification for ambulance drivers, as it depends entirely on the driving skills of an ambulance driver that can save a patient’s life by cutting through traffic and reaching the hospital in the quickest possible time. The government has ordained that the ambulance drivers would have a specified uniform – nave blue shirts and black trousers so that they can be readily identified by one and all. More important, the training will be rigorous and the drivers would be tested in real time, real traffic conditions during the training period.

Kerala model can be replicated

The government has asked the ambulance vehicles to clearly display the applicable tariff inside the vehicle prominently. Also on the anvil is a dedicated Whats App number across the state for ambulance assistance. The existing helpline telephone number too will continue to operate, a press release from the government said.

This move from the Kerala government can be replicated across India as it will be very helpful to people at large, said a leading doctor in Bangalore. In fact, healthcare sector on its own should pay more attention to the ancillary medical services to improve the quality of medical service delivery, the doctor said. And this is something that the medical health sector should take up on its own without having to be forced into by authorities, he said.