Bhopal, May 27 (IANS) With an eye on bridging the gap between remote districts and tertiary care hospitals, the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday unveiled the ‘Air Ambulance MP’ portal and mobile app, designed to reduce response time for emergency medical air transfers.

Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla launched the platform at Mantralaya, positioning it as a key step towards tech-driven access to healthcare. He said the state is focused on removing systemic delays that often prove fatal in trauma and critical cases.

“The PM Shri Air Ambulance Service symbolises the State Government’s commitment to ensuring that no citizen loses their life due to a lack of timely medical treatment,” Shukla said.

The new system shifts the request process from paperwork to a digital workflow.

Hospitals and district nodal officers can now raise requests through the app, triggering real-time alerts to pilots, medical teams, and approval authorities simultaneously.

Fleet tracking enables officials to see aircraft availability and location in real time, while automated notifications ensure crew readiness before clearances are issued.

According to the state government, the ‘PM Shri Air Ambulance Service’ has flown 140 missions so far.

These include transfers of critically ill newborns, cardiac and stroke patients, accident victims, and recipients awaiting organ transplants.

The service is free for Ayushman Bharat cardholders and patients from economically weaker sections, removing the cost barrier to emergency airlift.

A senior official in the health department told IANS that nodal officers across districts have been trained to use the portal and app.

The aim is to bring down the interval between a doctor’s referral and actual take-off to under an hour in most cases.

“Through the new portal and mobile app, the process for requesting air ambulance services will now become significantly simpler and faster,” the official said, adding that the digital system is expected to increase utilisation in regions where poor road connectivity previously delayed critical care.

–IANS

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