Rail Ambulance Services

While choosing a rail ambulance, it is always advisable to collect the relevant information about the services. One should look for the services which are run by medical professionals. Now-a-days, maximum ambulance services including the train ambulance, are run by technicians, drivers or paramedics, instead of medical experts. Also, the start-up culture led with a motive to earn, by young MBAs and other non-medical professionals is widely influencing the decision. Since, these apps based ambulance companies are not run by the team of medical professionals, they are unaware of the medical conditions which may arise during the transit.

Following checklist will help you in taking the right decision:

1. Before choosing the rail ambulance service, you should look for a company which is run by a doctor or a critical care specialist. The doctor in the ambulance team understands the medical condition of the patient and is well-prepared in advance, to handle any kind of emergency which may arise during the transit.

2. If you select a secondary ambulance company which does not have a doctor, then make sure that the concerned person is well-aware of the illness of the patient and the related complications.

3. If your patient is on oxygen support, then the medical team should be capable of assessing the number of oxygen cylinders required during the journey. Also, a well-managed oxygen backup, in case there is any delay, should be checked on.

4. During transportation, if the patient becomes critically sick in the presence of only paramedic and no doctor, then you may have to get off the train on the next station. Make sure you have the correct information about the hospitals or clinics at the desired location.

There is no special train for the ambulance transit. The fastest available train on the route is chosen for the medical transportation.

A stretcher with wheels is used to take the patient to the train. In India, where staircase is the most common connection between the different platforms at the station, we take the stretcher through the route which is used to load the luggage in the train coach.

No. The rail ambulance is the regular train and hence, takes the usual time to reach the destination.

To transfer a patient (who cannot sit or walk) into the train is a complicated process. We use adjustable patient shifter, which can be adjusted in length and width as per the patient's requirements. Since, a regular stretcher cannot be turned at the gate of the train coach, this kind of adjustable shifter is used.
Also, a thorough analysis of the height and weight of the patient is done by the trained and experienced ambulance staff who undertakes the process of shifting the patient into the train. This analysis helps to decide whether the head end or the toe end, needs to be taken inside first.

There are various medical conditions in which the patient cannot be shifted through rail ambulance. Some of them are mentioned below:

1. The patient with very recent cardiac event or with cardiac symptoms.

2. The patient with complete heart block

3. The patient with very recent brain stroke or with low GCS

4. The patient on ventilator with very high ventilator setting