By Our Correspondent
BARBIL/BHUBANESWAR: It was about mid-night of December 31, 2021, when 20-year-old Nansi Munda went into labor in rural Nuagaon of Joda block and the picture was bleak. Nansi was in extreme pain. After failing to access transportation services, relatives sought immediate help from JSW’s Nuagaon dispensary for ambulance support to shift her to Healthcare facility at Joda. Ambulance response was instant and she was shifted just in time.
“It is my first child and I was completely terrified for my baby’s health and mine too. I thought we both are going to die,” Nansi said after her successful recovery. She also said, “At that moment it wouldn’t have been possible to hire a vehicle for the transportation or wait for 108 services. We rushed to JSW’s ambulance as it was close to us.”
The transport of pregnant women to an appropriate health facility plays a pivotal role in preventing maternal deaths and keeping MMR in check.
Project Coordinator Manoj Katual, who oversees the ambulances services, said, “We get maximum request for labor cases.” JSW in association with Camp organization has helped shape the ambulance services into a lifesaving program for expecting mothers and new born babies.
Under the CSR initiative, JSW Group flagged off five ambulances services in October, 2021 to five areas located near its mines. The company has deployed ambulances support to mines areas like Nuagaon, Narayanposhi, Jajang, Ganua and Bhadrasahi of Keonjhar and Sundargarh districts.
The ambulances have provided uninterrupted transportation services to 42 pregnant women of five areas saving the lives of mothers and babies in the past 2 months. 26 pregnant women from Nuagaon, 10 from Ganua, 2 from Jajang, 3 in Bhadrasahi and one from Narayposhi have availed the service.
Resident of Ganua, Saudamini Naik has a similar story to narrate. “I experienced severe pain and transportation was unavailable. Ambulance deployed at Ganua Mines was available to help during the crisis. We are grateful for the life support,” 23-year-old Naik said.
It is observed that a small proportion of pregnant women and obstetric emergencies make use of ‘108’ services in these areas. In particular, the shortage of reliable emergency transportation is a danger to mothers and newborns. Without this service, women and adolescent girls would be struggling for birth with skilled care.
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, JSW has deployed one advanced life support ambulance and four basic life support ambulances. These ambulances offered services to patients covering around 50 villages of five areas.
The ambulances take 10 minute to reach at its respective areas after the receiving the call. Each ambulance carries one pilot and one EMT (emergency medical technician) for the help.
Since its launch, the company’s ambulances have already ferried a total of 170 patients to secondary and tertiary care hospitals. About 25 critical patients were transported to hospitals for their instant treatment and valuable lives have been saved. These ambulances as mobile medical units have been useful for health camps organized by JSW. The toll free number 8093018621 can be reached 24×7 to avail the service.”
