Alarmed by the number of road accident deaths in Jammu and Kashmir, a group of US based Kashmiri doctors is all set to provide fullyequipped critical care ambulances.

“In the absence of emergency service in the ambulances, the US-based group of Kashmiri doctors have launched a programme to provide fully-equipped ambulances with paramedics and junior doctors on board,” the group of doctors said in a statement on Wednesday.

The gesture has been prompted by the number of road related deaths and injuries, showing an alarming rise in Jammu and Kashmir.

“In such cases, the absence of pre-hospital care often makes it difficult to provide timely treatment to the patients. As a result, several lives are lost almost on a daily basis.”

To save such lives, a group of Kashmiri doctors named“Kashmera” based in US in collaboration with the state government and few NGOs,have launched a programme to provide ambulances to ferry the injured to the twopremier hospitals in Srinagar.The doctors said these ambulances, aimed atreducing the pre-hospital mortality rate, will be equipped with pre-hospitalemergency care.

A study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) in 2017 stated that Kashmir has highest number of deaths anddisabilities caused by road accidents.The study had examined cases from theyear 1996 to 2016. In 2018, at least 908 people were killed in 5,529 roadaccidents across the state.

On an average, 15 road accidents occur every day. Most ofthe wounded die en route to the hospitals in ill-equipped ambulances, in casethey are available, the study noted.To ensure that the injured get theEmergency Medical Response Services (EMRS), that primarily comprise ofpre-hospital emergency care, the US-based Kashmiri doctors are all set to startthe emergency services, named ‘911 Project’.

“In a tie-up with Save Hearts Initiative along with localpartner HELP Foundation, the doctors said that fully-equipped ambulances wouldbe devo ted to transport patients to SMHS or SKIMS hospitals in the capitalcity in a timely manner with EMRS en route.

“This service is set to start by the end of July 2019. Weare starti ng it as a pilot project in the Srinagar city. The ambulances willhave para medics and junior doctors on-board to provide pre-hospital emergencycare and transport the patients to the nearest available emergency room,” saidNahida Nazir, who chairs the healthcare committee of “Kashmer”.Kashmer is amember-based organisation of Kashmiri origin physicians and allied healthcarepersonnel in North America.“The vision is to provide a platform to theseprofessionals to netwo rk, educate, mentor and mainly to give back to theirnative land, especially the healthcare sector,” Nahida added.

“As of now, there is no robust EMRS available in the Valley.Ambulances largely function as transportation vehicles without any necessarymedical equipment or trained paramedical staff. In the absence of emergencycare, pre-hospital mortality rates have gone up drastically.

“Our project aims to change the concept of ambulances in theValley to life-saving emergency medical transportation. We are keen on havingan evidence-based EMS, driven by technology and trained personnel withuniversal access,” Nahida said, adding that the pilot EMRS project will beinitiated in Srinagar’s Old City to gain experience and gauge the popularresponse. These services will be extended to the entire Srinagar district inphases,” Nahida said.