By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 16 Feb: Uttarakhand is set to become the first state in the country to have Heli Emergency Medical Service (HEMS). This was stated today through a tweet posted by Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. These services will be launched soon by the Union Civil Aviation Department. Once these services are started, they are expected to bring great relief to the seriously sick patients in the hills and remote areas and provide them access to medical services. Those especially expected to greatly benefit from HEMS will be the injured and needy people in accidents occurring in mountainous areas. In case of any such incident, those in need of emergency medical services can be airlifted and sent to hospitals for immediate treatment.
Scindia stated in his post that Uttarakhand will be the first state to provide Helicopter Emergency medical services.
Uttarakhand is a state with adverse geographical conditions and, hence, taking injured and seriously ill patients from remote mountainous areas to the hospitals remains a major challenge. With the introduction of helicopter emergency medical facility, this problem can be resolved to a significant extent. Two helipads are already ready at AIIMS Rishikesh where this service will soon be launched.
Jyotiraditya Scindia stated in his post that, under HEMS, a helicopter will be deployed at AIIMS Rishikesh, so that if any accident occurs in an area of 150 kilometres, persons requiring emergency medical aid can be immediately airlifted and taken to the hospital in a chopper. Scindia said that it is a matter of great concern for him that that the helicopter emergency medical service is operated as soon as possible.
