Download - Dial 1298 for Ambulance Newsletter 1298.02
Dial 1298 for Ambulance Newsletter July - October 2008 Issue 1298.02
DIAL 1298 FOR AMBULANCE OVERVIEW
(July – October 2008)
Mumbai Kerala
Total Number of Ambulances 51 28
Total number of Calls 7416 5618
Total Free / Subsidized Calls 1840 194
Welcome to the second edition of the Dial 1298 for
Ambulance newsletter. The period from June to
October has been full of excitement and pride with
the introduction of world’s best dispatch and
control center software, followed by 1298 51st
ambulance launch in Mumbai and a rapid scale up
of the service in three more districts in Kerala.
Working towards our commitment to save lives,
we initiated the first ever community awareness
program to train school and college students on
First Aid and Basic Life Support in order to create
a pool of “First Responders” who can help during
medical emergencies. The program is being
conducted by our training arm Lifesupporters
Institute of Health Sciences.
In our continuing effort to strengthen the 1298
Women’s Helpline, with support from the Sheriff of
Mumbai, Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani, the Akshara
Center and Times Foundation, we compiled the
first ever Women Resource Directory which
contains details for 75 NGO’s in Mumbai that
work on women’s issues.
In September, Bihar was effected by the worst
floods in over 50 years. To help the victims we
dispatched 5 ambulances to Bihar and also
organized a Bihar Flood Relief Collection Drive
in association with the Times Foundation,
Indian Oil Corporation, the Sheriff of Mumbai,
Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani, TNT Express and
Goonj.
Finally we moved to our new home at the
Centre for Study of Social Change (CSSC) in
Bandra East. The new office also houses 1298’s
world class dispatch and control center which is
the hub for all 1298 ambulance operations. I
extend an invitation to all of you to visit our
new office and get the tour yourself.
Hope you enjoy reading our second edition and
a big thank you for your continued support and
encouragement.
Message from CEO,
Sweta Mangal
Dial 1298 for Ambulance launched its 51st
Ambulance in Mumbai & the world’s best
Ambulance Dispatch & Control Center Software
on the 8th of October 2008 at a function at Grant
Medical College Gymkhana on Marine Drive.
Present on the occasion were Shri. Milind Deora,
MP & Smt. Priya Dutt, MP who jointly flagged off
the 51st Ambulance. The other dignitaries
present at the event were Shri. Kripa Shanker
Singh, M.L.A, Shri. Sanjay Dutt, M.L.C and Dr.
Indu Shahani, Sheriff of Mumbai, Joydeep Roy,
CDO Tata AIG Life and Varun Shani, CEO
Acumen Fund India.
51st Ambulance & World’s Best
Ambulance Dispatch and Control
Center Software Launched in Mumbai
1298 expands to three more districts
in Kerala
Dial 1298 for Ambulance expanded its presence
in Kerala to cover three more districts of
Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram and
Kollam with an additional fleet of 8 Ambulances.
The launch function was held at VJT Hall,
Thiruvananthapuram on the 20th of October
2008.
The Ambulances were flagged by various
dignitaries including K P Rajendran, Honorable
Revenue Minister of Kerala Shri. Ommen
Chandy, Opposition leader of Kerala Assembly,
C. Jayan Babu Mayor of Thrivuvanathapuram
On occasion of the launch, a free health check-
up camp was also organized at the venue in
association with Rotary Club, Lions Club, Y’s Men
and Indian Medical Association.
The upgrade is set to provide Mumbaikars and
Keralites the very best when it comes to
management of pre-hospital patient care - both
in service and speed.
The technology known as ProQA has the facility
of obtaining the patient's status, choosing an
appropriate Ambulance dispatch level and most
importantly in instructing the caller with
medically approved protocols to support the
victim / patient until the dispatched Ambulance
arrives at the incident.
To complement this technology, the Dispatch
and Control Center has been equipped with CAD
– Computer Aided Dispatch Software, which
works on RTS – Real time Tracking System of
Ambulances using GPS – Global Positioning
Systems.
Bihar was devastated by floods with Kosi River
breaking its embankments in August 2008. The
fury of the Kosi River left at least 2.5 million
people marooned in eight districts of Bihar and
inundated 65,000 hectares of agricultural land.
Dial 1298 for Ambulance dispatched 5
Ambulances to Bihar to aid various relief camps.
On hearing the plight of millions from our
Ambulance crews in Bihar, 1298 collaborated
with the Times Foundation, Indian Oil
Corporation, the Sheriff of Mumbai, Dr. (Mrs.)
Indu Shahani, TNT and Goonj to organize a Bihar
Flood relief collection drive in Mumbai.
1298 has a new Address
Bihar Flood Relief Drive
After sharing chairs and computers for the last
few months in our Parel office, we finally shifted
to our spacious new office in Bandra East,
Mumbai.
The new office address is
CSSC, M N Roy Human Development Campus,
2nd Floor, C Wing, Plot No 6, F Block, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra East,
Mumbai - 400 051, India
Please stop by for a visit!
Times Foundation carried out advertisement in
Times of India, Economics Times, Nav Bharat
Times & Maharashtra Times appealing
Mumbaikars to donate for Bihar victims.
Collection kiosks were set up at ten IOC petrol
pumps across Mumbai from the 16th to the 22nd
of September, 2008. These donations were
consolidated and packaged by TNT Express and
subsequently delivered to our on-site partner
NGOs, Goonj and Nehru Yuva Kendra.
The Sheriff of Mumbai promoted the drive by
inviting Shaimak Davar and Parliamentarian
Milind Deora and other dignitaries to donate at
Breach Candy IOC petrol pump.
The drive was a huge success, and we collected
over 65,000 Kilograms of relief materials
including medicines, dry rations, clothes, milk
powder packets and rolls of tarpaulins.
On the 15th of August, Dial 1298 for Ambulance
started a community initiative program along
with Lifesupporters Institute of Health Sciences,
to create a pool of “First Responders” in Mumbai
by providing free First Aid and Basic Life Support
training to Schools and Colleges students.
The purpose of the workshops is so that in
event of an accident or a medical emergency, a
bystander is well-versed in administering First
Aid and Basic Life Support to the victim until an
Ambulance arrives.
We conduct these workshops in Schools and
Colleges free of cost. To-date we have
conducted over 30 such workshops, training
over 1,800 individuals. Our plan is to complete
100 such workshops by the end of this year.
A three hour workshop covers both medical
and traumatic emergencies ranging from
bleeding, burns, fractures, strokes and seizures
to cardiac arrest. Basic Cardio Pulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR) techniques are given
through practical experience by trying it out on
mannequins and use of an Automated External
Defibrillator.
Since its initiation, the program has received
appreciation from the students and teachers as
well as extensive coverage in leading
newspapers in Mumbai. To organize workshops
for a school/college, write to
1298 First Responders
1298 Women’s Resource Directory
Dial 1298 for Ambulance has been closely working
with the Sheriff of Mumbai Dr. (Mrs.) Indu
Shahani to strengthen the 1298 Women’s helpline.
Since the launch of the 1298 Women’s helpline
has received over 5300 calls. Callers were referred
directly to the most relevant NGO. In addition, to
making this information widely available to all
women who might be in distress, 1298 compiled
the first Women’s Resource Directory. This effort
was carried out under the guidance of the Sheriff
of Mumbai and with the support of Akshara
Center.
On the 9th of September, Indian Cricket Superstar,
Sachin Tendulkar launched the 1298 Women’s
Resource Directory along with Dr. (Mrs.) Indu
Shahani at HR college.
The Resource Directory has details of over 75
NGOs working with Women & Senior citizens in
Mumbai. They are classified on the basis of
services (Legal / counseling / Short stay homes /
Health / De-addiction) and location.
The launch function was a great success and it
wouldn’t have been possible without the
exceptional organizational skills & talents of H.R.
College students.
With the support of Times Foundation, 25,000
copies of the directory were printed and
distributed to women in Mumbai. To further
support the cause, the Times group also printed a
two page pull out with the details of the Women
Resource Directory, making the information widely
available to lakhs of women in Mumbai.
To get a copy of the 1298 Women’s Resource
Directory you can drop an e-mail to
Press Coverage
The Dial 1298 for Ambulance service continues to receive extensive coverage in the press. We have
also recently launched a blog that will keep you in the loop on all the latest news & happenings at 1298.
You can do so by visiting our blog at: http://dial1298forambulance.blogspot.com/
Mr. Chris Walker joined 1298 in November 2007
as part of his fellowship at Acumen Fund. Prior
to joining Acumen and 1298, he was the
Associate Director, International Relations at
Millennium Challenge Corporation and prior to
which he was an International Economist with
the US Treasury Department.
At Dial 1298 for Ambulance, Chris was
responsible for raising awareness about the
service in Mumbai and also in getting other
NGOs and Corporates involved in the project. He
played the key role in designing and
implementing the strategies to raise awareness
about 1298 in Mumbai.
He also worked closely with our creative design
team to create various marketing materials. He
was also instrumental in convincing NGO’s /
Organizations to donate Ambulances to help the
expansion in Mumbai.
We at Dial 1298 for Ambulance would like to
thank Chris Walker for all his efforts in helping
save more lives in Mumbai. Lastly Chris ended
his tenure at 1298 in August on the note saying
“I found my time with 1298 to be one of the
most fulfilling experiences I've ever had”.
Adieu to Chris Walker
1298 to help Road Accident Victims
Every year, numerous Mumbaikars lose their
lives in road traffic accidents, often because they
did not have access to timely or adequate critical
care. The Dial 1298 for Ambulance Service was
created to prevent such unnecessary tragedies.
Since our inception, we have been working
towards creating awareness about our services,
and about the importance of immediately calling
a well equipped ambulance service in the event
of an accident.
In the past months, Dial 1298 for Ambulance
teamed up with the Mumbai Traffic Police to
provide ambulance services to accident victims
on the Eastern and Western Express Highways.
These ambulances are stationed at strategic
location which provides access to both the
Highways so that immediate emergency care to
accident victim’s rapid transfer to the closest
hospital is possible.
To help create awareness about this service, the
Mumbai traffic police have provided assistance
by periodically flashing the vital information:
‘For Ambulance Call - 1298’ across the digital
signboards at the major traffic signals across
Mumbai.
We would like to thank the following for their continuing support
and encouragement:
Tata AIG Life Insurance
Red Swastik Society
Rotary Club of Bombay
London Ambulance
Service
Confederation of Indian
Industry
Lifeline Foundation
Sheriff of Mumbai
Center for Study of Social Change
Lifesupporters Institute of Health Science
Ogilvy & Mather
Times Foundation
Acumen Fund
Ambulance Access for All
CSSC, M N Roy Human Development Campus, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Plot No 6, F -Block,
Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai 400 051, India
Tel: +91 22 3957 1298 Fax: +91 22 3957 1297
www.1298.org.in
Eastern Group, GTN Group, Kalliyath Group, Federal Bank, the Mather Group, Health for All Foundation,
Alappuzha Chapter, Y’s Men of Thiruvananthapuram, Lions Club and Rotary Club of Thiruvananthapuram