Materia Medica Malaysiana

All states to operate one-call ambulance network

PENANG: The Health Ministry will soon extend its “one-call” ambulance services networking system to all states, following the success of its pilot project in eight states.
Its parliamentary secretary Lee Kah Choon said the system enabled the general hospital’s emergency unit to be linked to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that provided ambulance services.
“Using high capacity walkie-talkies, the general hospitals can now contact the Civil Defence Department, St John’s Ambulance Malaysia (SJAM) or the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) for back up ambulance services,” he said when closing Penang SJAM’s first aid and home nursing competition here yesterday.
Lee said the ministry had given out grants worth RM800,000 to eight state governments to set up a radio transmission station and to buy the necessary communication tools.
“Penang, which received this grant, had set up its transmission station on Penang Hill, providing radio frequency coverage throughout the island.
“This system proved to be highly effective, especially during the tsunami last December, when the walkie-talkies were used to co-ordinate the ambulances ferrying victims and the dead to hospitals,” he said.
Under the system, he said, ambulance drivers would radio to tell the hospital’s base station their destination and the emergency situation, which can also be heard by those manning the Rescue 991 call centres as well as by Red Crescent and St John’s officers.