Air ambulance service at AIIMS in Odisha capital soon

Ayaskant Das Published On : Nov 23, 2015 at 1:04 PM Updated On : Nov 23, 2015 at 9:10 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 23:

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Odisha capital is soon going to have helipad service to provide air ambulance service to trauma patients, particularly the security personnel and the civilians injured in Maoist-related violence.

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A decision in this regard has been taken by the Centre to start services at AIIMS centres in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

The proposed service, which is likely to be operational in one year, would provide speciality and super speciality services to the persons sustaining critical injuries in Maoist-related violence.

Several casualties, resulting due to Maoist violence, are reported in the undivided Koraput district every year. Since quality specialised medical facilities are not available in this part of the state, the injured are referred to Visakhapatnam for specialised treatment. The injured are transported via road as a result of which precious time is lost and several persons succumb to injuries in the meantime.

In order to uplift the morale of the jawans and provide trauma care to civilians, air ambulance services would soon be started at Bhubaneswar and Raipur. The facility could pave way for saving many valuable lives.

“A proposal for construction of helipad at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has been finalised. However, we cannot comment on the exact time-frame on completion of the project at this point of time” Bhubaneswar AIIMS Director, Prof Dr Ashok Mohapatra said.

According to official data, around 12, 000 people have died in nine Maoist-affected states, including Odisha, in the last 20 years. Of the casualties, 9, 471 were civilians and 2, 712 were security personnel.

It may be recalled that 21 security personnel were killed in landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Malkangiri on July 26, 2008. In another incident, 11 SOG jawans were killed in Koraput in Maoist onslaught.

While 11 districts in Odisha are Maoist-affected, hundreds of security personnel and civilians are killed every year.

AIIMS bhubaneswar