DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday flagged off 58 new ambulances equipped with the latest medical equipment. Mann said that with this addition, the ambulance fleet size has reached 325 in the state.

These ambulances have been mandated to reach needy patients within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural areas, Mann said.

These GPS-enabled ambulances will work in tandem with the 'Sadak Surkhya Force' (Road Safety Force) and will ensure that people's lives are saved in case of emergency by providing health care facilities to them at times, the chief minister said.

The 58 ambulances have been purchased for Rs 14 crore and are equipped with lifesaving drugs and ultra-modern equipment, he said.

These ambulances will act as a catalyst to provide primary treatment to the patients so that their lives are saved well in time, Mann said.

The fleet of ambulances in the state has already been doing a great service to humanity as more than one lakh patients were safely transported to hospitals through these ambulances in the current year, he said.

This includes 10,737 heart patients, 28,540 pregnant women and others, said Mann, adding that 80 babies were delivered safely in ambulances.

The 'Sadak Surkhya Force' is coordinating with the 108 helpline number to use ambulance services to save the lives of commuters who met with road accidents, he said.

Mann said the 'aam aadmi clinics' have revolutionized the health care sector in the state.

He said 1.75 crore people have taken the benefits of these clinics in the state, and more than 95 per cent of patients visiting these clinics daily recover from their ailments. Mann said the state government is giving a major facelift to the health sector. A lot of resources and funds are being pumped in to upgrade the health sector in the state to ensure that people get access to quality health services.

Medical colleges at Hoshiarpur, Sangrur and Kapurthala are also coming up, he said.

People who were compelled by the system of previous governments to migrate abroad are now returning, which is a positive trend of reverse migration in the state, he said.

His government provided government jobs to more than 43,000 youths in just two years, he claimed.
(editor@dailyworld.in)