Bhubaneswar: In a significant step to enhance emergency medical transport services in Odisha, a meeting was held here under the chairmanship of Commerce & Transport department Principal Secretary Usha Padhee, along with Health and Family Welfare department Commissioner-cum-Secretary Aswathy S Saturday.
The discussion focused on creating a comprehensive regulatory framework for private ambulance services across the state.
Recognising the crucial role of private ambulances in bridging healthcare gaps—particularly in remote and underserved areas—the meeting stressed the need for enhanced transparency, operational consistency, and improved accessibility for citizens.
To address this, a campaign-mode registration drive will be launched to bring all private ambulances under a unified, standardised platform.
This initiative aims to create a verified database, streamline enforcement, and enable efficient, real-time service deployment.
A key highlight of the discussions was the proposal to incentivise private ambulance operators to register and comply with service guidelines.
These incentives, along with clear regulations, aim to encourage wider participation and ensure voluntary adherence to the new framework.
Additionally, all registered ambulances will be integrated with the Vehicle Location Tracking System (VLTS) for GPS-based monitoring and quicker emergency response.
Plans are also in place to link ambulance services with the Odisha Yatri App, offering a seamless, tech-enabled platform for citizens to easily locate, book, and access ambulance services— thereby strengthening last-mile healthcare delivery.
To safeguard citizens from arbitrary charges, the departments proposed to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for fare regulation.
The fare structure will be linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to ensure fairness and affordability across time and regions.
Among those who actively participated in the meeting and contributed valuable insights were the National Health Mission (NHM) Mission Director Brundha D, Additional DMET Umakant Satapathy, Deputy Superintendent of Capital Hospital Dhananjaya Das, and senior officials from both departments.
PNN
