Govt plans choppers for emergency med services, readies pilot project

NEW DELHI: India plans to use choppers for emergency medical service (EMS) to save lives by rushing people in need of urgent care, like those involved in highway accidents, to hospitals in the golden hour from places where an ambulance may take a long time to reach.
The Union aviation ministry has proposed a pilot project by inviting private operators to station a chopper at AIIMS Rishikesh for six months. Golden hour is the first hour after a traumatic injury when treatment is most likely to be successful.
The helicopter proposed to be stationed at AIIMS Rishikesh would be on call from sunrise to sunset with 20 minutes response time. Based on the outcome of this study, the final policy would be worked out to make it viable for private operators to place choppers at strategic places along highways and other places where required.
The ministry has sought expression of interest (EoI) from air operators who can offer a single or twin-engine helicopter in an air ambulance role with EMS capability for six months based out of a helipad at AIIMS Rishikesh.
Interested air operators have been asked to submit their responses to this EoI by September 15, 2022. A certified air operator with at least one helicopter registered in its air operator permit can apply.
“The project would be at AIIMS Rishikesh for six months which may be extended on mutual consent basis…,”the terms of the EoI say.