Study of Emergency Services Response Time in a City: though Traffic Management and Technological Interventions, a case study of Pune, Maharashtra

Abstract

It is well known that easy & timely availability of emergency series can save a lot of lives, especially in case of emergencies. The state of emergency services. In this study, let’s look at the number of operational ambulances across states and various studies that evaluate the functioning of ambulance services with various parameters. Emergency Services like Mobile Hospitals, Ambulances, Fire Fighting services, police services, Hazardous Materials (HazMat) Teams, Search and Rescue Teams, Bombs Squad, Disaster Response and Relief Organisations, Public Work Utilities, Utilities Companies is what holds the city together. It keeps people healthy, safe, and happy. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, nearly 24,012 people die each day due to a delay in getting medical assistance. Ambulances sometimes cannot get to emergencies fast enough. Often, the reason first responders cannot get patients to a hospital in time is because of traffic jams. Yearly, 30% of emergency patients’ deaths were caused by traffic jams. In metropolitan areas, the average distance from an emergency department, or ED, is 3.6 miles. In a non-metropolitan area, this distance increases to 5.1 miles. World Health Organisation’s (WHO) benchmark says that there should at least one ambulance (emergency response) per 1 lakh population. The Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) which manages the 108 services also suggests about roughly one such ambulance for every one lakh people. There is, however, a solution. The easiest way to reduce ambulance travel time and accidents would be to designate certain roads as “Ambulance Routes.” These routes would lead from hospitals and EDs to major residential areas, co- working spaces, office spaces etc. They would be lined with lights that, when an ambulance is en route and is going to use that road, would be turned on, much like railroad or drawbridge lights. These lights would warn drivers that an ambulance is heading to an emergency and that they should clear the road. These roads would be especially helpful in bad weather conditions, when the likelihood of crashes is increased. Not only could these lights be used for ambulances, but they could also be used for any emergency responder. This solution would solve the problem of ambulances not going to the nearest ED by encouraging ambulance drivers to keep to the Ambulance Routes, where they would have less traffic, that would lead directly to the nearest ED.