Imagine a situation where the oxygen saturation of the COVID-affected patient dropping down precariously low. To top that, the family of the patient finds that there is no hospital in the vicinity that has an appropriate bed available with an oxygen and ventilator facility. That was the situation that several people found themselves in recently in India. Air ambulance services were the only hope for a large section of people in this densely populated nation. Air ambulance services came to the rescue when people were finding adequate hospital beds at distances that are too far to cover through road transport.
The National Capital Saw a Huge Spike in Demand for Air Ambulance Services
The nation’s capital, Delhi, was grappling with an acute shortage of oxygen when the second wave of the pandemic hit the country. People were literally losing their lives due to lack of oxygen and hospitals were raising alarms, warning that they would soon run out of medical oxygen. The government, not having anticipated such a huge surge in demand, was caught sitting duck. In this panicky situation, several people turned to air ambulance services to fly to nearby cities where hospital beds with oxygen and ventilators were still available.
There was a 70% Spike in Demand Says a Local Air Ambulance Company
There was a 70% increase in demand during the peak of the second wave where air ambulance services were availed to reach neighboring cities. The missions were short and swift, allowing the air ambulance companies to cater to a greater number of patients. Of course, amid all this, the air ambulance companies had to arrange for oxygen cylinders while the patients were in transit and arranging this was no small feat. According to one report, certain patients were so bad that they were consuming about 5 cylinders every hour.
