Mumbai : With an aim to create awareness for drivers to make way for the ambulance with patients waiting to reach hospital on time, Nanavati Hospital initiated Mock Ambulance Drive Campaign ‘Mujhe Raaste Do’ (Give me way) on Saturday, following which Health Minister Dr Deepak Sawant inaugurated a state-of-the-art 24×7 accident and emergency centre equipped with medical technology at the hospital aimed.
According to World Health Organization’s recent data, every year almost 1.24 million lives are lost as a result of road traffic crash due to inability to receive medical attention on time. Dr Deepak Sawant said: “The state of Maharashtra has been thoughtful about creating the green corridor.
Chennai was the first Indian city to create a green corridor for a heart transplant. However, recently, a green corridor between the hospital in Pune to the airport and another one from Mumbai’s Santacruz airport to Mulund was created at a moment’s notice. There is an urgent need to create an Ambulance freeway to address the emergency medical care needs within the shortest period of time. The State Health Ministry will definitely work towards such initiatives with the State Road Transport Department.”
Health experts state that the chances of a patient’s survival after a traumatic injury is directly related to how fast he/she receives emergency care, a time period called ‘Golden Hour’ in medical parlance. Dr Rajendra Patankar, COO of Nanavati Hospital, said: “It is well established that the patient’s chances of survival are the greatest if they receive care within a short period of time.”