Kolkata: Manipal Hospitals
Kolkata today
announced the official launch of its Manipal Ambulance Response Service
(MARS) in the city, marking a major milestone in strengthening emergency
medical response across the region. As part of this expansion, Manipal
Hospitals unveiled a robust fleet comprising 17 dedicated Manipal ambulances,
including 5 Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) units and 12 Basic Life
Support (BLS) units, along with 20 Kolkata Accident Response &
Medical Assistance (KARMA) ambulances, which operates through a
public–private partnership between Kolkata Police and Manipal Hospital EM
Bypass, providing specialised emergency support for road-accident victims
with rapid response and critical golden-hour intervention. Across its network,
Manipal Hospitals operates over 100 MARS ambulances, responding to
more than 500 emergency calls every day.
The programme was graced by senior officials from the Kolkata
and Bidhannagar Police Commissionerates, including - Shri Mukesh,
IPS, Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, Shri
Rupesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (TP), Kolkata Police, Shri
Yeilwad Shrikant Jagannathrao, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic),
Kolkata Police, Shri Nima Norbu Bhutia, Deputy Commissioner of Police
(Traffic), Bidhannagar City Police. Dignitaries from Manipal Hospitals,
including Dr. Mabel Vasnaik, Chairperson, Consultant and Head, Emergency
Medicine, Manipal Hospitals Bangalore, a key contributor to the MARS
journey since its inception in 2014 and Mr. Madhur Gopal, Vice President –
Marketing, Manipal Health Enterprise Pvt. Ltd. along with Dr. Indranil
Das, Senior Consultant and HOD – Accident and Emergency Care, Manipal
Hospital EM Bypass, Dr. Kishen Goel, Consultant and HOD – Emergency,
Manipal Hospital Broadway, Dr. Sujoy Das Thakur, Consultant and In-Charge –
Emergency Medicine, Manipal Hospital Mukundapur and Dr. Ayanabh
Debgupta, Regional Chief Operating Officer (COO), Manipal Hospitals East
were also present during the launch programme.
The MARS Initiative is Manipal's Flagship pre-hospital
emergency care programme, offering full pre-hospital intervention during
the critical first hour after an injury, allowing access to timely and
appropriate emergency services for all patients suffering from life-threatening
illnesses. Furthermore, Manipal Hospitals has one of the most extensive,
up-to-date ambulance fleets in India, all outfitted with ECG machines,
ventilators, defibrillators, multi-parameter monitoring devices, syringe pumps,
and other critical care technologies to facilitate the stabilization of
patients enroute to the hospital.
Every MARS emergency call is triaged by a team of trained
emergency response personnel who assess the emergency response level based
on the identifying information provided to the MARS command centre and dispatch
the nearest available ambulance. For emergencies requiring immediate
intervention due to the potential for death or disability, emergency calls are
escalated to an on-call physician (who is an emergency room physician and
available 24/7) for clinical guidance regarding the emergency care that should
be provided enroute to the hospital.
Each MARS ambulance driver is BLS certified, and each
ambulance has two EMTs, trained to administer first aid and stabilise patients,
as well as providing hospitals with live clinical updates to an ALS-certified
doctor. This ensures continuous care from the point of request until the point
of delivery at the hospital, and this level of care has been provided by
Manipal for 25 years through their experience in providing emergency medical
services.
In the event of critical or life-threatening emergencies, patients
within Kolkata who require admission to any Manipal Hospitals unit in
the city and use the MARS ambulance service will receive a complimentary
drop-off to the hospital.
During his address, Dr. Indranil Das, shared, “In
India, delayed medical care contributes significantly to adverse health
outcomes, with over 50% of cardiac arrest patients reaching hospitals late.
Here, timely medical assistance can make all the
difference, especially in emergencies like cardiac arrests or accidents. In
Kolkata, we are witnessing a significant rise in cardiac and neurological
emergencies. In this scenario, the introduction of MARS is timely and
essential. Our centralized monitoring and rapid deployment protocols allow us
to reduce the response time drastically, improving survival rates especially in
stroke and heart attack cases.”
Dr. Kishen Goel, added, “In emergency care, every minute saved can
increase survival chances by up to 10%, especially in cardiac arrest,
stroke, and respiratory emergencies. A major challenge in Kolkata has been the
delay in initiating treatment before the patient reaches the hospital. MARS
directly addresses this gap by enabling early medical intervention through
advanced equipment and trained emergency specialists inside the ambulance
itself. With real-time monitoring and a streamlined command centre, we are
ensuring that critical care effectively begins at the patient’s doorstep, not
after arrival at the hospital. This is a transformative step for the city’s
emergency response ecosystem.”
Dr. Sujoy Das Thakur, further stated, “Kolkata’s trauma and accident burden has
increased significantly over the last few years, and timely pre-hospital
care can reduce mortality by nearly 25–30% in such cases. With a
strengthened fleet of 16 Manipal ambulances supported by 40 KARMA ambulances,
we now have one of the most extensive emergency response networks in Eastern
India. Our teams are equipped and trained to manage high-acuity trauma,
polytrauma, and complex accident emergencies, ensuring rapid stabilization and
seamless transfer to the nearest Manipal Emergency Department. This integrated
system will dramatically improve outcomes for critically injured patients.”
About the launch, Dr. Ayanabh Debgupta, said, “Global
studies indicate that timely pre-hospital intervention can lower mortality
in critical emergencies by up to 40%, while each minute of delay during a
cardiac arrest reduces survival chances by 7–10%. These figures underscore
the life-saving importance of rapid emergency response. The launch of MARS in
Kolkata represents our commitment to elevating emergency healthcare delivery in
Eastern India. This fleet expansion, combined with our highly trained emergency
teams, will ensure that critical patients receive immediate, evidence-based
care during the golden hour. Our goal is simple, save more lives by reaching
patients faster.”
With MARS now fully operational in Kolkata, Manipal Hospitals
East aims to redefine emergency responsiveness in the region, ensuring that
expert care begins not at the hospital door, but the moment an emergency call
is made.