Delhi government to add 103 ambulances to CATS fleet
New Delhi: Delhi govt plans to enhance its emergency medical response capabilities by incorporating 103 additional ambulances into the
Centralised Accident and Trauma Service
(CATS) network.
The expansion, which aims to bolster urgent healthcare services across the city, includes the procurement of 50 geriatric-friendly advanced life support (ALS) ambulances. These will be operated by an outsourced agency, according to officials. Moreover, private ambulance operators have been invited to submit applications for 53 basic life support (BLS) vehicles, including drivers and qualified paramedical staff.
While ALS services are scheduled to begin functioning in May itself, BLS services are expected to commence operations within the next three months, with the tender process currently in progress.
The geriatric-friendly ambulances incorporate specific elements for elderly patient transport safety and comfort. These include wheelchair access, transfer assistance devices and medical monitoring equipment for vital signs. The new fleet of 53 BLS ambulances will be equipped with 24 crucial medical instruments, such as oxygen cylinders, pulse oximeters, nebulisers, oxygen flow metres and suction pumps.
The addition of the new vehicles will increase Delhi's CATS ambulance fleet from 277 to 380. Currently, CATS owns 137 ambulances, consisting of eight ALS and 129 BLS units.
Furthermore, 140 ambulances are contracted from private operators, including 50 ALS and 90 BLS vehicles. The new additions will result in Delhi having 108 ALS and 272 BLS ambulances within the CATS network.
The move follows revelations in the Delhi Assembly about increased ambulance response times, now exceeding 17 minutes despite fleet additions. This information emerged after Sadar Bazar constituency's AAP MLA Som Dutt raised the query in the assembly in March this year.
Records show CATS ambulances now take 17.4 minutes to arrive, up from 13 minutes in 2014, despite the fleet growing from 155 to 261 vehicles over a decade, serving Delhi's population of nearly three crore.
A Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) report recently identified several CATS ambulances operating without crucial equipment. Response times from Jan 2020 to July 2020 ranged between 28 and 56 minutes, improving to 15 minutes by Sept 2022. Feb 2020 recorded 49 rejected calls due to staff shortages, oxygen unavailability and vehicle issues, the CAG report pointed out.
CATS, founded in June 1989 under Delhi govt's department of health and family welfare, transferred operations to external management in Aug 2019 for three years, with a potential two-year extension subject to performance evaluation.
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