Since its inception in August 2005, the 108 medical emergency reaction offerings has stored the lives of over 2 million patients throughout 15 states and a couple of union territories.
Started through the Emergency Management & Research Institute (EMRI), a non-profit presently under the aegis of Indian conglomerate GVK, the 108 provider attends to “80,000 calls every day and touches a population of 800 million,” according to K Krishnam Raju, Director, GVK-EMRI. Besides, it has additionally instituted a much-wanted structural change in how emergency hospital treatment is brought to India’s poorest patients in city and rural regions before they are taken to a clinic. EMRI become first an initiative undertaken via Ramalinga Raju, Chairman of Satyam Computer Services.
First conceptualised in (united) Andhra Pradesh by way of the late Dr AP Ranga Rao, a man of first-rate intellect and ardour who possessed a burning desire to do some thing for the people, a strong scientific emergency gadget was Rao’s number one cognizance. Spending close to a decade operating with the British National Health Service (NHS) gaining knowledge of about emergency structures, his imaginative and prescient turned into to introduce the equal for India’s public health machine.
Nonetheless, it changed into Venkat Changavalli, the primary CEO of the Hyderabad-based Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI), who become the real architect in the back of 108. And, for the problem, if it weren’t for his father, Venkat would have never even taken up the task.
“I changed into the CEO of a German multinational based totally out of Chennai, when I chaired a convention titled ‘Beyond Creating Value’ in January 2005. The chief guest on the time turned into Satyam Computer Services chairman Ramalinga Raju. Following the conference, Raju approached me with a suggestion of doing some thing concrete in emergency offerings. He didn’t have 108 in mind or even a actual plan, however wanted to faucet into my large corporate enjoy, ardour for innovation and a latent choice for public provider,” says Venkat, in an distinctive communique with The Better India.
Initially, he had rejected the thought, unwilling to surrender his high-paying activity and wasn’t organized to get into public service just yet. However, a conversation with his father, a retired faculty instructor, changed the whole lot. His father noted building a legacy, asking Venkat to utilise his time, cash, skills and information to assist the tens of millions he doesn’t recognise. Following the communication, Venkat referred to as up Raju and on 15 April 2005, he took over as CEO of EMRI.
Problem assertion
Before the 108 provider have become operative, researchers at EMRI had envisioned that 4 million Indians were death each yr due to insufficient medical emergency offerings. Of the four million deaths, around 60 in step with cent (2.4 million) were related to cardiac-related emergencies, accompanied by way of 1,50,000 being pregnant-associated deaths, 1,40,000 street coincidence fatalities, respiration distress, snake bites and suicide tries, among other causes.
“Through its research, EMRI has [also] discovered that 10 in keeping with cent of Indians face emergencies however both don’t recognise them as such or have nowhere to name,” says this July 2010 Harvard Business Review document.
“Instead of one number human beings can dial for clinical emergencies, there were more than one helpline numbers for authorities and private hospitals. Moreover, there have been no standardised ambulances that offered pre-clinic care. These motors had been in large part transporting ambulances without the requisite equipment or information to stabilise a affected person. If these facilities have been to be had, sufferers had been charged an exorbitant quantity. Government ambulances had been there, but in terrible running situation. This become the state of affairs,” recollects Venkat.
