Manipal Hospitals Dwarka is launching a fleet of 12 state-of-the-art ambulances which will be stationed at certain places in the National Capital Region (NCR) to carry emergency patients to the nearest hospital, free of cost.

"The WHO's 'Golden Hour' theory followed world over says if a patient of road mishap or a heart patient is rushed to the hospital within an hour, his chances of survival goes up by 70-80 per cent," Manipal Hospitals Chairman Sudarshan Ballal said. Ballal said Manipal Ambulance Response Service (MARS) will be launched on Sunday. The ambulances will be supported by centralized 24X7 Command Centre and Emergency Response Centre Physicians who will attend or direct it to the nearest hospital.

The ambulances are equipped with ICU services and trained drivers who can perform 'Basic Life Supporting techniques' on the patients. The ambulance can be reached on 011-4040-7070 toll free number, the hospital said in a statement. "These high-end ambulances will be equipped with central monitoring system to relay images on patient condition to Emergency Response Centre at the hospital... In the coming year we will slowly expand our network," said hospital COO Pramod Alagharu.

Equipped with Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), patients can have their treatment started in the ambulance itself. Vital signs will be measured by Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), who will have constant interaction with doctors for their advice, during patient transit. Attending doctors will keep the Emergency Department and a specialist doctor -- who will initiate advanced medical interventions -- ready in the hospital to receive the critical emergency case, it said.