Bangkok launches first fleet of motorbike-ambulances

BANGKOK: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has launched its first fleet of 50 motorcycle-ambulances to provide emergency life-saving services in all 50 districts of the capital.

Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt oversaw the launch ceremony for the first 50 “motorlances” at the BMA Expo 2023 in Benchakitti Park on July 15.

The 50 motorcycles come equipped with life-saving tools and will be ridden by specially trained staff at the hospitals where they will be deployed.

The riders will weave through busy streets and serve spots that are difficult to reach by four-wheel ambulances.

Chadchart said the motorlances were a speedy way of getting potentially life-saving aid to victims in the city.

“When an emergency happens, we will be able to reach the patient within eight minutes and save his or her life. We plan to expand the fleet to around 200 to 300 motorlances,” Chadchart said.

The first 50 motorlances were distributed to hospitals in seven zones in Bangkok.

Chadchart said traffic congestion and narrow sois or alleys make it hard for ambulances to reach critical patients in time, so the motorlance project was launched under the city’s “nine excellences” to boost life quality.

The project is backed by the Motorlance Thailand Network, a non-profit group that encourages the use of emergency motorbikes to save life.

Riders will be equipped with tools to make preliminary diagnoses. They can send back information to the Urban Medical Support Centre (UMSC) of the National Institute for Emergency Medicine in real-time through cameras.

UMSC doctors can then give life-saving instructions and determine whether patients should be picked up by an ambulance later. This will also help non-critical patients save time and hospital travel costs.

The weekend’s BMA Expo 2023 offered several activities to promote health, including health checks and online consultations, as well as training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR. - The Nation Thailand/ANN