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Lucknow, Read. byThe delay in arrival of ambulance after a road accident on the National Highway will now cost heavily to the contractors and ambulance operators. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued new rules setting time limits for ambulance services. In case of violation of rules, direct penalty will be imposed according to the delay.

If call is not accepted within one minute, fine of Rs 5,000

According to the new rules of NHAI, it will be mandatory to accept emergency calls or tickets within one minute. If there is more delay than this, a fine of Rs 5,000 will be imposed for every additional minute. The ambulance has to leave within two minutes after accepting the call. In this too, a fine of Rs 5,000 will be imposed for every additional minute of delay.

Must reach within 10 km radius

If the accident occurs within a radius of 10 kilometers from the ambulance base, the ambulance will have to reach the spot within 10 minutes. In case of delay, a fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed for each incident. Whereas, if the distance is more than 10 kilometers, the time to reach the spot will be decided on the basis of distance.

It is necessary to take the injured to the hospital within an hour.

In the new rules of NHAI, the time limit for taking the injured to the hospital has also been fixed. After the accident, the patient will have to be taken to the nearest hospital within an hour. Even if there is delay in this, a fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed per incident. If an ambulance refuses to accept an emergency ticket, a fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed in each case.

If GPS is found switched off then Rs 2500 will be deducted daily

Strictness has also been done regarding GPS and app for monitoring the ambulance. If the GPS is found to be switched off, the ambulance is not visible online on the app or its information is not available on the dashboard, a fine of Rs 2,500 will be imposed per day. If deficiencies to medicine, medical equipment, driver or EMT are found during inspection, a fine of Rs 10,000 will be imposed for each inspection.

Dry run will have to be done every 24 hours

Under the new rules, every ambulance will have to do a dry run or mock drill at least once in 24 hours and during this time it will have to cover at least five kilometers. However, if the ambulance has gone to an accident on the same day and its total movement is more than five kilometers, then the condition of dry run will not be applicable on that day.

Ambulance of neighboring highway will also have to help

NHAI has also made important changes regarding the availability of ambulances. If an ambulance from the neighboring highway section is not available, another ambulance will have to go out of its designated area and reach the accident site. This means that help cannot be refused by specifying the limits of the ambulance's area.

Fine will be calculated through CARE system

The fine will be calculated through NHAI's CARE system. The fine amount will be deducted from the monthly payment of ambulance service, quarterly maintenance payment of EPC project or half yearly payment of HAM project. However, the total penalty imposed on a service provider in a month will not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh.

NHAI strict on negligence of GPS and app

According to NHAI, the problem of negligence in using GPS and CARE app and ambulance not being available online has been coming to the fore. Due to this, there is a delay in timely help reaching the injured after a road accident and their lives can be in danger.

The circular also states that the issue of delay in ambulances after road accidents has also been raised in the Road Safety Committee of the Supreme Court and the Performance Audit of CAG. In view of this, NHAI has now decided to strictly enforce the time limit for ambulance response and transportation to hospital.