SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday launched a dedicated 24×7 ambulance service for all 248 villages across Ladakh’s seven districts, with residents able to seek emergency medical assistance through helpline 108.
Named Ladakh Sanjeevani Seva, the service operates a fleet of 73 ambulances with trained drivers to respond to medical emergencies, including road accidents, high-altitude emergencies, tourists requiring medical assistance and pregnant women needing transport to hospitals.
Under the system, each village has been mapped to a designated ambulance and driver, with every ambulance linked to the nearest health centre. The ambulances are located an average distance of around 13 kilometres from the villages they serve.
The initiative is intended to improve access to emergency healthcare in remote settlements, where geographical distances and harsh weather conditions can delay the transportation of patients to medical facilities.
A key component of the service is advance planning for maternal healthcare. Health workers have collected information about pregnant women across Ladakh, recorded their expected delivery dates and linked them to the ambulance and driver assigned to their respective villages.
More than 1,100 pregnant women have already been included in a centralised database, which is intended to help health workers arrange transportation as delivery dates approach. The system is expected to reduce delays in reaching hospitals, particularly in remote areas and during winter, when arranging transport at short notice can be difficult.
Speaking at the launch, Saxena said the effectiveness of a healthcare system depended on how quickly it could reach patients in need, particularly women in labour, accident victims and critically ill people in remote villages.
“Through Ladakh Sanjeevani Seva, we are ensuring that medical assistance reaches people when they need it most. Special attention is being given to pregnant women and critically ill patients,” he said.
“Our aim is simple – no person in Ladakh should be denied timely medical care because of distance or the inability to find transport,” the Lieutenant Governor added.
The service will also assist patients suffering from cancer, kidney disease, heart disease, stroke and serious lung diseases, many of whom require repeated hospital visits for treatment. The facility is intended to ease the physical, emotional and financial burden of arranging transportation for these patients and their families.
Of the 73 ambulances, 18 have been deployed in Leh, 17 in Kargil, 12 in Changthang, nine each in Sham and Nubra, and four each in Zanskar and Drass.
Describing the launch as a significant milestone in healthcare delivery, Saxena said the administration was committed to ensuring that no citizen was left without assistance during a medical emergency.
