The Hindu Business Line : Dial 108 services launched in Madurai

Madurai, Nov. 4 The Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mr M.R.K. Paneer Selvam, launched the Dial 108 Emergency Response Services (ERS), here on Tuesday, flagging off 13 of 108 ambulances in Madurai district.

The ERS is a joint initiative by the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), Hyderabad in partnership the Government of Tamil Nadu and covers the medical, police and fire services. The toll-free number 108 is accessible from a landline, mobile, local telephone booth without any prefix or suffix. It is a free emergency service, under which help is intended to reach the site within minutes. In the case of medical service, besides transportation of the patient, on-the-spot medical service would be rendered and on admission into a hospital, the medical service would be free of any charge for the first 24 hours.

The Minister said the Government has allocated Rs 22.89 crore for the implementation of the project and EMRI has been given Rs 20 crore to meet the expenses towards training, insurance, etc. The Minister announced that a Rs 150-crore speciality hospital would be coming up at Thoppur near Madurai soon. The Government has appointed 4,102 doctors, 5,124 nurses and 12,332 others to strengthen the health services in the State, he mentioned.

Mr V.K. Subburaj, Principal Secretary to Government, Health and Family Welfare, said the facility will be extended throughout the State in the course of the next six months.

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