EMS Gets 200 Motorcycle Ambulances

The induction of motorbike ambulances, imported almost three months ago, in the EMS hospital fleet was delayed due to late release from customs, said Pir-Hussein Kolivand, head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Services. He was speaking at a meeting of the Tehran City Council.

In the final months of the last fiscal that ended in March, the Health Ministry had announced that 200 motorbike ambulances would be added this year to the emergency fleet in Tehran and some big cities with a population of half a million

Now the motorbike ambulances have joined forces with the regular ambulance services, Kolivand said, IRNA reported.

Given the heavy traffic in the metropolises, especially during the rush hours, motorbike ambulances accelerate response to a medical emergency. They are fully equipped and operated by experienced paramedics.

“With the coming of motorbike ambulances, the response to medical emergencies is expected to decrease to four minutes,” he said. The average time at present is between eight to 14 minutes.

The introduction of two-wheelers for rapid response is a major improvement in the EMS system. Last year, the idea was put on trial in Tehran with 30 motorbikes, and was a success.

Tehran is home to 12 million people, and the city’s Emergency Medical Service (EMS) has only 1,500 paramedics, Kolivand noted.

“We are in dire need of more emergency medical stations to meet growing demand. Tehran EMS is sorely lacking in sufficient ambulances; only 20% of emergency calls receive a standard response.”

Currently, the capital has 158 emergency medical stations, only 11 of which are close to fire stations. “We have also come to an agreement with the subway authorities to increase emergency medical centers at metro stations, where there are only two facilities at present.”

 Delay Due to Clogged Streets

Heavy traffic in the overcrowded capital does now allow regular ambulances to perform efficiently since it usually takes three hours to get back from an emergency site. Sometimes ambulances get stuck in the traffic snarls, and at times other drivers refuse to give way. Given the situation, helicopters can be the best means of medical emergency transport for Tehran. Right now, Iran has 32 emergency helicopters, two in Tehran.

But, he said, it is not the lack of helicopters that paralyzes air emergency services in the capital. The problem lies in not having enough helipads.

Since air ambulances came into operation, 16,000 people have been rescued, said Kolivand. “We need to create helipads in hospitals and different areas of the city at important junctures.

He criticized the large number of unnecessary calls made to the EMS, saying that many of the cases they are called on to attend are fake.