School students learn how helplines work

In the maiden effort to get the student community familiarised with the operations of the two services, the students were given hands-on experience of how 108 emergency response centre works. “They were informed about what kinds of calls that come and how calls are taken. They also learnt how the information is disseminated to the ambulances and how the vehicles are despatched, along with what the dos and don’ts to be considered while calling for the ambulance service,” said Prabudoss, head, GVK EMRI, that runs the 108 and 104 services. 

The students also learnt about the 104 helpline. They understood how the doctors and paramedical staff work in tandem to provide health advice and how we can use it for making complaints related to health, he added.

With the need to focus on the student community in terms of creating awareness on dengue, Dr Subramaniam from the Public Health briefed the students about dengue, steps to be taken to prevent it by keeping the environment clean.

Stating that the students were delighted after the experience, a staff from the school said, “As 108 and 104 are now an integral part of our day to day life, we thought it would be fitting to have such an exposure for the student community. The experience served as an eye opener for many. The students said that while they see the 108 ambulances regularly, they never knew how the centre worked.”