As part of this project, 25 advanced life saving ambulances are deployed at various parts of Trivandrum district. The ambulances are deployed in such a way that, when an emergency call is placed on 108, an ambulance will reach the spot within 10 minutes. A call center has been set up in Technopark, which can be reached by dialing the toll free number 108. The call center is outsourced to a private
company, Ziqitza Healthcare operating from Thejaswini building, Technopark. The ambulances are fully equipped with advanced life saving equipments. These ambulances are monitored from the control room using GPS (Global Positioning System). When a call is placed on 108, the Call Center representative verifies the details and location and contacts the nearby ambulance with the help of GPS and sends it to the location. All these happens within minutes. According to the statistics of 108 service, in most cases an ambulance reaches the location within 10 minutes. Each ambulance has two Emergency Medical Technicians. Services of the 108 KEMP ambulance is totally free of cost. The 108 helpline can be contacted only for medical emergencies like accidents, snake bites, heart attacks, poisoning, su***de attempts, conditions due to high BP or low sugar levels, drowning etc. The ambulance service through the 108 helpline is not available for carrying dead bodies. The KEMP project is one of the most helpful project launched by the Department of Health, Government of Kerala. Initially the service is available in Trivandrum, in the next phase, it will be extended to Alleppey. We wish the service is rolled out to entire Kerala state very soon. Next time you see a road accident or come across an emergency medical situation, don’t hesitate, just dial 108. An ambulance will there for emergency medical care and to take the suffered person to the nearest hospital within 10 minutes.