Lack of ambulance services and the referral system in slums Of Delhi

Post Date: Thursday, September 8, 2016

“India requires better emergency medical service to meet the growing number of emergencies. What exists currently in the form of fragmented services across the country falls way short of meeting the requirement.” – Prasanthi Potluri (Editor Asian Hospital &Healthcare Management)

An effective emergency referral transport system is the link between the home of the pregnant woman and a health facility providing basic or comprehensive emergency obstetric care.  Ambulance services to transport pregnant women, children and those that require emergency medical attention remains a challenge in India even after 50 years of public health care provision. An analysis of the causes of maternal deaths in India found that nearly half of maternal deaths occurred where institutional care had not been availed at the time of delivery. Among the reasons for not delivering in health facility, inadequate transport facilities (10.4%) and lack of adequate money (17.9%) featured as important reasons. 

According to the District Level Household Survey 3, though 71 per cent of the villages in India had primary health centres within a 10 km distance but only 55.2 per cent had referral services for complicated delivery.   In summary, lack of physical as well as financial access for the natal care services is an important determinant for the use of institutional delivery in rural India.

Delhi happens to be the only metropolitan city under the NHM programme and the Emergency Medical Transport Services (EMTS) project was aimed at providing speedy emergency care in slum areas. However the scheme has not been duly implemented.

The team comprising of social activists and interns from Human Rights Law Network and partners from SAM.BKS conducted a fact-finding on referral system in the Chilla Gaon, Yamuna Khadar Mayur Vihar Phase 1 and Chilla Hanuman Mandir, Mayur Vihar, and Shakur basti, Delhi in April 2016.