Karnataka government to take over 108 emergency services by February 2026
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department is set to take full control of the 108 ambulance services by February 2026, with plans to conduct tests to recruit Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) deployed in the ambulances, Deccan Herald reported on Tuesday.
The EMTs, who accompany patients during transit, play a crucial role in providing first-aid and emergency care before hospitalisation. “This is to test their capability, it is important that these technicians are able to provide the necessary services under pressure,” DH quoted Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao as saying.
Rao added that this was the first time in the country such an initiative was being implemented and assured that there would be no compromise in the delivery of emergency medical services.
To strengthen the fleet, the department will procure 175 new ambulances through the Road Safety Authority. The new vehicles are expected to replace older ones, many of which were procured in 2018 and have reported frequent breakdowns.
The upgraded ambulances will be equipped with Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs), a tablet device that assist technicians and drivers in locating patients and the nearest hospitals. The MDTs will also integrate the service with e-Sanjeevini, the national telemedicine platform, allowing doctors to guide EMTs in real time and enabling hospitals to prepare for incoming patients.
“To bring in more efficiency, the ambulance nearby will be allocated to the patient and immediately be taken to the nearest hospital. Currently, we have geo-tagged all the government hospitals in the software, we are awaiting details from Karnataka Private Medical Establishment to geo-tag private hospitals as well,” DH quoted Dr Prabhudev Gowda, Deputy Director, Emergency Management and Research Institute, as saying.
A pilot project of the system in Chamarajanagar district has reportedly shown encouraging results. “We are able to dispatch ambulances without any glitches or delays,” Gowda added.
For fleet management, the department plans to appoint separate agencies in each district to outsource ambulance drivers and ensure transparency.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
