Falck, committed to driving concept of emergency medical services in Sri Lanka

Thursday, 4 September 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Falck, the world’s leading Emergency Medical Service (EMS) provider, is paving way to revolutionise the healthcare system by driving the concept of pre-hospital emergency care in Sri Lanka. Falck’s goal is to build a system in which all communities will be served by a well planned and highly coordinated emergency care system that will ensure a reduction in preventable death and disability. The term EMS evolved to reflect a change from a simple system of ambulances providing only transportation, to a system in which actual medical care is given on scene and during transport. The Colombo National Hospital quotes, ‘In most cases injuries are aggravated because of the wrong manner in which injured persons/patients are transported to hospitals’.

“EMS is an essential part of the overall healthcare system as it saves lives by providing immediate care. Although globally accepted, the concept of EMS in Sri Lanka is still in its early development stage. However, we are certain that with proper awareness, people will identify the importance of EMS,” said Falck Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer Jens Paul Madsen. Falck is committed to being Sri Lanka’s premier provider of out-of-hospital emergency services and has a step by step national expansion plan. Believing in the concept of ‘people helping people’ and not limiting it to emergency situations, Falck regularly conducts health clinics in selected towns and popular malls to encourage the public to be more aware of their health. Furthermore, Falck provides Emergency First Aid training to school teachers to empower them as the ‘first on sight’ during an emergency in a school with the necessary skills to help children who are injured or ill. This training will be extended to the traffic petrol teams in schools as they will be the first responders if any accidents occur in the surrounding areas outside the school premises. As we continue to live in uncertain times, Falck as the expert in handling an emergency also took steps in training the staff of Disaster Management Centre in Colombo. This ongoing training extends Falck’s support to the Disaster Management Centre by assisting them to develop their emergency services especially in Dispatch Control. Part of Falck’s plan in being socially responsible is to educate the traffic police pertaining to Falck’s services on Emergency First Aid. The training will include critical life saving skills, which the Police can administer during an emergency until professional help arrive. Driving its vision in being able to serve the entire Western Province by March 2015, Falck has expanded its services from a head office in Ratmalana to EMS stations in Nawala and Wattala. The expansion allows Falck to be more accessible and provide timely care. Falck aims at responding to medical emergencies within Colombo and its immediate suburbs within 15 minutes from the emergency call. Despite only being available in the country for a little over a year, Falck in Sri Lanka have been selected to provide EMS in many national level events such as emergency cover for the Asian Five Nations International Rugby Tournament, Colombo Night Races and providing training in Emergency Care at sporting events for Sports Medicine Doctors at the National Olympic Committee’s Sports Medicine Congress. In Sri Lanka, Falck provides both high quality EMS and non-emergency home healthcare services in the greater Colombo area. Apart from giving preliminary treatment, part of Falck’s service also includes transporting patients to hospitals. Falck can be contacted for any medical emergency from any landline or mobile on their 24 hour emergency hotline, 1990. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Falck is the largest multinational ambulance services provider, operating 1,800 ambulances in 45 countries, responding to two million emergency calls a year.