The India-backed pre-hospital care emergency response ambulance service, “Suwasariya” on Tuesday marked its first anniversary with the managers of the programme and Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva announcing that moves are afoot to expand it throughout the island.
According to reports, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has moved a proposal to the Cabinet stressing the importance of extending the emergency ambulence service.
The Suwasariya ambulance service is operational in the Southern and Western Provinces. The service will be made available in other provinces soon under the second phase of the programme, sources said.
Steps will be taken to add more 300 ambulances to the fleet under the second phase.
Suwasariya was established as a private- public partnership programme between India’s not-for-profit professional organisation, GVK EMRI, operating in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode and the Sri Lankan Government with the financial assistance from the Indian Government. Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva played a major role in the process.
The services got off the ground with the formation of GVK EMRI Lanka connecting with the Health Ministry. During the first year, Suwasariya’s controlled centre has received over 322,000 emergency calls and has served over 32,000 cases, out of which, cardio, trauma and stroke have been the major cases, the sources said.
Nine childbirths have taken place in Suwasariya ambulances during the year.
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