Bengaluru: We have an app for everything, including taxis, but not yet for ambulances. But that is about to change. To help reduce time taken for the ambulance to reach people’s doorstep, GVK-Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) ‘108’ Ambulance Service is planning to introduce a mobile App.  Like the Taxi apps it will be available on Google Playstore and will display the location of the user (through GPS) and the ambulances close to that location. The App will also help connect the user to the 108 call centre.

S.S. Perveez, operations in-charge of GVK EMRI – Karnataka, said that currently, the call centre executives spend around a minute to fill in details of each caller. “The families of the patient are often distressed and do not want to answer multiple questions. It may get irritating if we ask them to repeat the address. Besides saving time, this is also a confidence-building measure with our callers and is more reassuring. If we spend too much time asking questions, the stressed out family sometimes considers making alternative arrangements to reach the hospital,” he said.

Currently, this is being tested on a pilot basis in Hyderabad. And, if all goes well, GVK-EMRI plans to introduce this by the year-end in the State as well. “The location accuracy of places and roads in Bengaluru may be good, but we need to spend more time to get the logistics right for remote places in rural areas,” he said. The call centre receives around 12,500 calls per day from across the State, of which 3,000 are emergency calls and close to 4,000 are nuisance calls.