200 Motorbike Ambulances for EMS

Ambulance services in most cities meet the target of reaching patients with life threatening conditions within 8-15 minutes, Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, said on the sidelines of his visit to Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Ardestan city, Isfahan Province, Thursday.

However, in some metropolises, ambulances are not able to reach seriously-ill patients fast enough due to the near permanent traffic congestion. “The problem can be addressed by adding motorcycle ambulances to the emergency fleet in metropolises,” he said, salamatnews.com reported.

Hashemi also inaugurated a medical emergency center in Mahabad town in Ardestan County.

Around 200 motorbikes will soon be added to the emergency fleet in some big cities, while double the number is actually required, he noted.

According to Iran’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS), currently 3,500 ambulances, 40 motorcycle ambulances, and 21 air ambulances provide 24-hour services across the country.

The number of ambulances will be increased to 4,000 from the current 3,500 by the end of the fiscal year in March. In the first five months of the current year, 351 ambulances at a cost of $26.7 million were imported from Germany.

Presently, 21 emergency air ambulances are in operation and the Health Ministry is trying to increase the number to 45. Air emergency services cover 80% of the areas across the country. Three more air ambulances will be added within the next six months.

Pointing to the deficit of at least 7,000 medical emergency staff in the country, the minister said due to financial constraints, the Management and Planning Organization has not approved “our request to recruit more people for the EMS units. The current staff is 15,000.”

Motorcycle ambulances providing emergency services operate in cities with populations of more than 500,000 and given the heavy traffic in the metropolises, especially during the rush hours, these emergency vehicles accelerate the response to a medical emergency. The motorcycles are fully equipped and operated by experienced paramedics.