Manipal Hospitals launches bike ambulances at 17 busy Bengaluru locations

Manipal Hospitals on Thursday launched a two-wheeler first-responder service in Bengaluru to provide emergency care while a regular ambulance is still on its way, according to Deccan Herald. Health and Family Welfare Minister UT Khader flagged off the bike ambulances.

The units are stationed at high-traffic locations including Old Airport Road, Indiranagar, Domlur, Halasuru, Hebbal, RT Nagar, Nagawara, Whitefield, Varthur, Marathahalli, Sarjapur Road, Yeshwantpur, Rajajinagar, Malleswaram, Vasanth Nagar, Yelahanka and Hennur.

How it works

• An emergency call on 080-22221111 is assessed by the emergency room doctor and the command centre, which dispatch the nearest bike ambulance along with a regular ambulance.
• The bike paramedic reaches first, assesses the patient, gives immediate care and relays health data to the hospital.
• The patient is then handed over to the regular ambulance for transport.

The bikes carry first-aid and trauma supplies, portable oxygen cylinders, ECG machines and automated external defibrillators. They have sirens, beacon lights, public-address systems and reflective markings, and riders get helmets with built-in microphones. The units will have GPS tracking and be linked to the central command system, hospital chairman Dr Sudarshan Ballal said.

Khader said the initiative can serve as a model for other hospitals, government or private.

Why it matters for ambulance owners and drivers

• Bike units are designed to work alongside, not replace, regular ambulances, which still carry the patient to hospital.
• Faster first response on congested roads is part of how emergency care is being organised in the city.