News Desk, News Nation 360 : Manipal Hospitals, one of India's leading healthcare service providers, launched its "Salute the Real Heroes" campaign today to honour ambulance drivers for their vital role in the healthcare system, marking a significant step in honouring the unsung heroes. The occasion was planned in honour of World Ambulance Day, which is observed on January 8th worldwide each year. Leading cardiologists, neurologists, and emergency room specialists from various departments of Manipal Hospitals in Kolkata participated in the lively discussions and offered their insightful opinions on the significance of these programs and the value of Basic Life Support (BLS) training for ambulance drivers. In India, one of the critical issues is that half of the patients with heart attacks reach hospitals more than 400 minutes after symptom onset, far beyond the critical 30-minute window, which can lead to irreversible damage within 18 minutes without intervention. This is a very critical role for BLS training, especially for the drivers of ambulances who are often the first responders. To tackle this, Manipal Hospitals undertook extensive BLS training for ambulance drivers led by prominent emergency medicine specialists like Dr Indranil Das, Dr Kishen Goel, Dr Sujoy Das Thakur, and Dr Ashok Kumar Mishra. The training involved critical life-saving techniques like CPR, identification of stroke and heart attack symptoms, and the need to transport patients to
hospitals with necessary diagnostic tools like CT/MRI scanners and catheterization labs. The training included in it focused on proper emergency procedures to obtain timely and appropriate patient care. The important role of ambulance drivers is recognized, and Manipal Hospitals also launched a comprehensive wellness plan under the "Salute the Real Heroes" initiative. This includes various initiatives to support the well-being of the drivers and their families such as family get-togethers, outings, and workshops. In addition, the plan offers education support to drivers' children by attending career guidance sessions with education experts and seminars about memory improvement given by neurologists to boost their grades. Lastly, through the wellness initiative, health cards will be issued to the drivers and their families to ensure access to quality healthcare for them as well as for medical expenses.
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