SRMS shifted numerous COVID-19 patients to hospitals

KARACHI: There were 30,425 instances of COVID-19 that SRMS paramedics transported to health institutions and other Covid-19 treatment facilities.

Sindh Rescue and Medical Services (SRMS), the emergency ambulance service, with emergency call numbers 1021 & 1036 and 1123 for general health advice, operated under Aman Healthcare Services, transitioned to Sindh Integrated emergency and Health Services (SIEHS) 2021.  

During this period, SRMS and Telehealth continued to save the lives of critical patients by delivering free pre-hospital care through its quality ambulance services in Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal & Hyderabad, with backing from the Government of Sindh. 

Between January to December 2021, SIEHS Command and Control received a total of 436,265 calls requesting for SRMS assistance. SRMS fully equipped vehicles with qualified staff executed 152,778 interventions giving emergency aid and transferring patients to required health institutions, depending on the severity of the case and the availability of automobiles.

On doctor's suggestion or patient/attendant preference, 6,733 cases were transferred from the roadside to the hospital; 58,341 patients were transferred from home to the hospital, and 76,928 patients were transferred from hospital to hospital. 

The Command & Control centre's skilled crew assisted 1,725 on-call CPRs via the attendant, while paramedics performed 1,851 CPRs in the ambulance itself.

In the challenging times of COVID-19, the SRMS ambulance squad was in the frontline and moved 30,425 confirmed and suspected Covid-19 cases to healthcare institutions and specially designated COVID-19 centres. The SRMS crew also delivered 52 babies en route to the hospital during the year. 

The dedicated team of Telehealth handled 288,784 calls on their helpline number 1123, out of which 159,666 were inbound calls and 129,118 were outbound calls. The bulk of the calls was for Covid-19, with 7,452 COVID-19 calls received for enquiries and health advice and 109,607 calls made primarily for follow up of home isolated Covid-19 patients. 

The Clinical Training Department (CTD) completed training of 589 candidates during the year, including induction and CME training of 263 SRMS personnel and 326 external candidates.  

Despite the relatively limited number of vehicles in its fleet, SIEHS concentrates on providing pre-hospital emergency care in accordance with worldwide standards, providing services 24/7 to its maximum capacity. The operations were projected to grow in other Sindh districts with the Sindh government's backing, permitting SIEHS to provide this critical service at no cost to even more households.