ICMR launches ‘Mission DELHI’ to reduce heart-attack deaths

NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on April 25, 2019, launched ‘Mission DELHI’ to deliver good post-attack care at the door step with an aim to reduce number of deaths from heart attack. An assistance unit on a motorcycle can be quickly summoned for emergencies like heart attack or severe chest pain. The pilot project has been launched fora radius of three kilometres around the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

There are four bike-ambulances and 12 trained nurses who would be the first responders to treat heart attack patients.‘Mission DELHI’ (Delhi Emergency Life Heart-attack Initiative) aims to reduce the time it takes for people with a serious heart attack to receive clot-busting medicine.

Dr Randeep Guleria, AIIMS director said, the pair would rush to the spot on motorcycles on getting a call, collect basic information about the patient’s medical history, conduct a quick medical examination, take the ECG, and establish a virtual connect with the cardiologists at AIIMS and deliver expert medical advice and treatment.

While the emergency treatment is being provided, a CATS ambulance will arrive and take the patient for further treatment. A CATS ambulance will also be dispatched simultaneously. The first response vehicles will also be equipped with oxygen cylinders and defibrillators.

The project will cost ₹5 crore over three years and more, if expanded.

“Under the project, timely emergency treatment will reach patients before their condition worsen,” said Dr Venugopal, ex-director AIIMS.

The idea is to reach with medical help much faster, given the high-density traffic situation in the city where movement of four-wheeler ambulances becomes difficult. Motorcycle ambulances can reach people in narrow lanes in congested areas,” Dr Guleria said. 

The awareness drives and dry runs for the project had started seven months ago. So far, the nurses on the field have already conducted 1,804 dry runs and done 1,040 ECGs.