Gandhinagar, Oct 22 (IANS) The Gujarat government-operated air ambulance service has completed 98 missions since its launch in 2022, including 48 transfers of patients requiring medical treatment and 50 flights transporting human organs for transplantation, according to officials.
The 24-hour service, operated by the Civil Aviation Department and Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL), is available to citizens across India and provides air medical transportation at subsidised rates.
The figures highlight its dual role in transferring critically ill patients to hospitals and moving organs for time-sensitive transplant procedures.
“The air ambulance service, operated by the Government of Gujarat through the Civil Aviation Department and Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL), provides air medical transportation at subsidised rates and is available to citizens across India. The initiative has emerged as an important component of the State’s emergency medical response infrastructure,” Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who also holds the Civil Aviation portfolio, said.
Launched in 2022 under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the service operates a dedicated Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft, registered as VT-GUJ.
The aircraft is available round the clock and can be equipped with doctors, medical personnel, equipment and other support facilities depending on the patient’s condition, the urgency of the case, the distance and the destination.
Of the 98 missions completed so far, 48 involved patient transportation, allowing people requiring urgent or specialised treatment to be transferred between locations.
These transfers can support patients needing advanced surgical intervention, critical care or other specialised hospital services.
The remaining 50 missions involved the transportation of vital human organs.
Since organs available for transplantation must be transported within a limited period, aviation support can help hospitals and transplant teams move them between locations within the available time.
The service operates through a coordinated system involving 108 Emergency Services, GUJSAIL’s Flight Operations Department, medical teams, pilots, airport authorities, ground transportation teams and receiving hospitals.
The process can begin when 108 Emergency Services identifies a patient who may require air transportation and refers the case to GUJSAIL’s Flight Operations Department, which coordinates the flight.
Hospitals can also approach the service directly when a patient needs an urgent transfer to another medical facility.
The transfer involves coordination between the hospital of origin, ground transport, airport personnel, the aircraft crew and the receiving hospital, with the aim of minimising delays in reaching the required medical facility.
The aircraft can also operate from a range of airports and suitable airstrips, including those without conventional air traffic control services, subject to applicable operational, weather and safety requirements.
This flexibility can be useful when patients are located far from major airports, potentially reducing the distance they need to travel by road before boarding the aircraft. The air ambulance is intended to complement, rather than replace, the existing road ambulance network.
Air transportation offers an alternative when distance, urgency or geographical conditions make it a suitable option.
The government has set subsidised charges at Rs 50,000 for a patient from Gujarat and Rs 65,000 for a patient from outside the state.
When a hospital books the service, the applicable charge is Rs 55,000, according to the state government.
The Civil Aviation Department and GUJSAIL coordinate the aviation operations, with the service relying on medical professionals, pilots, 108 Emergency Services, hospitals, airport authorities and ground support teams to complete patient transfers and organ transportation missions.
–IANS
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