By Our Correspondent
Lucknow, August 3: The Yogi government’s 102 ambulance service (Mother and Child Services) is proving to be a significant benefit for pregnant women and newborns in the state. Previously, delays in medical care for pregnant women often jeopardized the lives of both mothers and their babies. In response, the Yogi government has strengthened the 102 ambulance service, playing a crucial role in reducing the maternal and infant mortality rates.
As a result of these efforts, the response time for the 102 ambulance service has now decreased to just 7 minutes. This means that in emergency situations, mothers and their babies receive medical care within seven minutes. Uttar Pradesh now leads the nation with the fastest response time, while Jharkhand records the slowest.
Over 40,000 mothers and babies benefit daily from 2270 ambulances
Principal Secretary of Medical and Health, Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma, said that CM Yogi Adityanath has taken major steps to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. “Hospitals in both urban and rural areas of the state have been strengthened while various measures have been taken to reduce the response time of the 102 ambulance service. The results are now visible.”
Expressing gratitude to CM Yogi’s visionary thinking and monitoring, he mentioned that the current response time of the 102 ambulance service is just 7 minutes and 6 seconds, compared to 11 minutes and 28 seconds in 2016. This improvement did not happen overnight but is the result of continuous efforts and initiatives over the past seven years by CM Yogi, he pointed out.
He also informed that to achieve this goal, the Chief Minister replaced old ambulances with new, technology-equipped ones in 2019 and 2023, removing 1554 and 674 outdated ambulances, respectively. Additionally, 306 new ambulances were added to improve the service. Currently, there are a total of 2270 ambulances operating under the 102 service in the state, providing assistance to an average of 40,524 mothers and babies daily.
Improved ambulance service leads to a drop in maternal and infant mortality rates
Mission Director of National Health Mission, Dr. Pinky Jowal said that the reduction in response time of the 102 ambulance service has significantly decreased the maternal and infant mortality rates in the state. She mentioned that according to the Sample Registration Survey (SRS), the maternal mortality ratio in the state was 216 per one lakh during 2015-17, which has dropped to 167 per one lakh in 2018-2020. Similarly, the infant mortality rate was 23 per thousand in 2016, which has decreased to 21 per thousand in 2020-2022.
Dr. RP Dixit, GM of Maternal Health, mentioned that the SRS survey is conducted every two years. The report for the 2020 survey has not yet been released, but based on previous survey reports and the improved 102 ambulance service, it is expected that the upcoming report will show an even greater reduction in mortality rates.
Jharkhand has the worst response time in the entire country
According to the Mission Director, the efforts of CM Yogi have led to a continuous reduction in ambulance response times over the years. In 2016, the response time of the 102 ambulance service was 11 minutes and 28 seconds. It was 12 minutes and 1 second in 2017 and 11 minutes and 21 seconds in 2018. In 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the response time was 13 minutes and 42 seconds, and in 2021, it was 12 minutes and 2 seconds. After this period, the response time improved to 7 minutes and 1 second in 2022 and 7 minutes and 2 seconds in 2023. Currently, the response time is 7 minutes and 6 seconds.
Notably, Uttar Pradesh has the shortest ambulance response time in the country, despite being the most populous state with a population of 25.74 crores. Uttar Pradesh ranks first nationwide with a response time of 7 minutes and 6 seconds. Rajasthan is second with a response time of 7 minutes and 57 seconds, and Kerala is third with 10 minutes and 45 seconds. Jharkhand has the worst response time at 16 minutes and 2 seconds, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 15 minutes and 1 second, and Delhi at 13 minutes and 31 seconds.
