Highways Ministry proposes amendments to AIS-125 to safety and functionality of ambulances

New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has proposed amendments to the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-125 to strengthen the safety, functionality, and medical capabilities of road ambulances across the country.

Road ambulances are critical in emergency care, facilitating transportation of patients to hospitals and providing advanced life support for critically ill patients.

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The ministry on September 8, 2016, had notified standard AIS-125 (Part 1) to ensure compliance with the constructional and functional requirements of road ambulances.

Further, AIS-125 (Part 2) was published as a guideline standard specifying the medical equipment requirements for different categories of road ambulances to enable them to perform their designated functions.

The ministry in a statement said amendments to AIS-125 (Part 1) and AIS-125 (Part 2) have been adopted to enhance the safety and functional efficiency of road ambulances.

The amendments include specialised road ambulances, such as Neonatal Road Ambulance -- designed to transport sick or premature newborns from one hospital to another, usually for higher levels of medical care; and multi-stretcher road ambulance -- designed to carry multiple stretchers while focusing on intensive care support on one patient at a time.

The draft notification has been issued and uploaded on the ministry's website for inviting public comments for enabling finalisation. The amendments shall come into effect from the date specified in the final notification.

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India also records a significant number of road accident fatalities every year, many of which are preventable through timely medical intervention.

Studies indicate that nearly 50 per cent of road accident deaths can be averted if victims are admitted to hospitals within the first hour.

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