“ZHL offers end-to-end emergency management systems in the form of outsourced ambulance service to hospitals”

Praveen M, Head 1298, Ziqitza Healthcare elucidates on their ambulance service and its role in improving EMS in the country

Please comment on the state of EMS in our country. How can we address the challenges in delivering prompt medical emergency services?

Praveen M, Head 1298, Ziqitza Healthcare

EMS sector is growing at an exponential rate, few of the pivotal challenges which are being faced is the trust factor among people to recognise that a fully equipped ambulance can do wonders in saving their lives.

There is a high demand for quality ambulance services in India. India is a very disaster prone country, 30 per cent of accident victims in India die due to delay in transportation to hospital.

The existing system is fragmented and does not meet the demand. The main providers of ambulance services are private ambulance owners, hospitals, NGOs, and government agencies. Some services are free, while others are not.

EMS must have a “timely” response for each and every call. How do you achieve this?

All our ambulances are equipped with GPS. This helps in real time tracking of the nearest ambulance which can be dispatched to the patient. GPS-enabled ambulances are a huge support in delivering prompt medical support in medical emergencies.

What is the USP of your company?

We have three core USPs which differentiates us:

• Our ambulances are available 24×7, 365 days
• Real time GPS tracking of all the ambulances
• We have trained medical staff on board

ZHL offers end-to-end emergency management systems in the form of outsourced ambulance service to hospitals so that they can focus on their core competencies

What are the social initiatives taken up by ZHL to contribute to the society?

ZHL truly believes in making difference to society, we have undertaken few social initiatives like organising free health camps across Mumbai, Kerala to sensitise people to take care of their health on regular basis.

We believe that if people are equipped with the knowledge of first aid which they can use to handle medical emergencies this will be a huge achievement. We train people on first aid which not only clears the myths they have but also equip them to be the responder before the ambulance arrives.

We also run 1298 Women’s Helpline and Senior Citizen’s Helpline in Mumbai which is 24×7, 365 days operational. Through these helplines we have served over 30,000 calls.

How do you network with hospitals?

We attend medical conferences, events, seminars, workshops which lead to build our network with hospitals and keep us abreast with the latest trends and happenings in the healthcare industry. We have a dedicated sales team that is responsible for engaging our hospital partners on a continuous basis.

What is ZHL’s vision? How have you planned for it?

Our vision is to save human lives by providing the leading network of fully equipped advanced and basic life support ambulances across the developing world. We plan to launch our services in metros in this financial year.

Also we are in strategic talks with organisations in the developing countries to explore the possibility of starting the service of emergency medical response service

What is your view on the future of outsourcing of EMS? How do you see Indian scenario on global level?

With the global healthcare business growing at an exponential rates, ZHL understands that the hospitals in India are feeling the pressure to prioritise on their core competency – ‘managing their patients and providing excellent treatments’.

Most leading hospitals and nursing homes in India are now focussed on improving their core competence and have shifted focus on outsourcing other aspects of hospital management like catering, housekeeping or pharmacy. One of the key management issues faced by hospitals is managing their ambulance fleet. To cater to the acute need of well equipped and maintained fleet of ambulances in hospitals, ZHL with its vast experience in life-support ambulance management has initiated the concept of outsourcing of advanced Life-Support Ambulance service in Mumbai, Kerala, Punjab. Currently MGM Hospital, Fortis Hospital, Bhatia Hospital, SK Hospital and Umrao Hospital have tied up with us to manage and operate their ambulance fleet.

It is this need that has prompted us to venture into management and operations support service for operating advanced life support ambulances of hospitals and other institutions in Kerala.

We provide hospitals with custom designed ambulances and trained manpower for retainer and this will help hospitals to concentrate on its core competency of medical care facilities. Apart from offering pre-specified ambulances, Ziqitza’s package deal also comes with trained manpower. Our ambulance crew which includes emergency medical technicians and drivers are trained by Life Supporters Institute of Health Sciences (LIHS), the international training centre of American Heart Association enabling them to stabilise the patients and transfer with medical support. Another unique feature of our service is that we keep 24/7 live track of the ambulances and provide the hospitals with comprehensive report on every aspect of ambulances, right down to its speed.

This also ensures 365 days uptime for the ambulance for hospitals. ZHL has specialised teams managing different responsibilities like operations, training, quality, control room, recruitment etc to provide a world class service.