New Delhi Police vehicles to be casualty ready

The Delhi Police are planning to install stretchers in over 800 patrolling vans that they are going to procure in a month. Faizan Haidar reports.

The Delhi Police are planning to install stretchers in over 800 patrolling vans that they are going to procure in a month.

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Currently, there are 12 PCR ambulances in Delhi but normal police vans don’t have designated space for accident or trauma victims.

The back seat of the vehicles will be converted into a stretcher so that victims can be shifted to hospitals easily.

“We are the first one to reach to the spot and we cannot wait for the ambulance to take the victim to a hospital. It is a matter of life and death. The current PCR vans don’t have space for an accident victim to lie down before being shifted to a hospital,” said a senior police officer.

On Monday, 100 Innova vans were inducted into the Delhi Police. The back seat of these MUVs have been modified to accommodate a stretcher.

In 2012, PCR vans shifted 32,499 persons to hospitals.

“On an average, we take nearly 40,000 persons to the hospital every year. We have a first-aid box in every van but our staff has to hold the injured in a seating position while taking him to the hospital. The back seat of the new vans will be converted into a bed for the convenience of the victim and the police staff,” the officer added.

The PCR personnel are trained in basic life-support skills by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

“A person in distress always makes the first call to the police assistance number 100 and he doesn’t have the time to distinguish between a PCR van and an ambulance.

"PCR vans always reach the scene of road accidents first and act as the largest the ambulance service in the city. Proper medical facility in every van increases the chances of a victim’s survival,” the official said.

Some of the new PCR vans will also have cameras to monitor suspicious activities.

The Delhi Police are hoping to extend the fleet of patrol vans to 900 by the end of this year.

The newly-sanctioned 370 PCR vans will be equally distributed among 11 districts across the Capital and they are expected to reduce the response time by at least 2-3 minutes.