The festival of lights is a day away. Amid the fun and festivity, safety should be a priority. On its part, the Health Department and Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project have made elaborate arrangements to attend to emergencies.
Officials said all 936 ambulances of the 108 service and 41 first responder bikes have been deployed in accident hotspots. Ambulances will be deployed along State and National Highways.
“In Chennai, 50 ambulances and 11 first responder bikes have been deployed at vantage points. Bus terminals and railway stations including Koyambedu, Perungalathur, Madhavaram, Chennai Central and Egmore are covered,” an official said.
The four emergency care centres at Padiyanallur, Tambaram, Injambakkam and Mahabalipuram as well as GVK EMRI’s call centre, 108, would function with full strength.
The round-the-clock health helpline, 104, would have doctors and paramedics, and can be contacted for assistance.
Burn injuries
Last year, the network served 4,493 emergencies a day before Deepavali, 4,425 cases on Deepavali and 4,170 the next day. Most of these emergencies were road traffic accidents. There were 35 burn injury cases a day before Deepavali, 68 on Deepavali and 44 cases the next day, he added. As per data with the department, there were 166 fire accidents due to crackers during Deepavali season — October 17, 18 and 19 last year.
Of these, 41 accidents were in Chennai. “It is important to wear footwear to avoid injuries to feet,” said G. Karthikeyan, professor and head, Department of Burns, Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.