Dial 1298 for Ambulance, is an initiative started by a group of young professionals with a high degree of social and public commitment with the primary objective of rolling out a nationwide network of Life Support Ambulance Service accessible to anyone, anytime and anywhere through an easy to remember four digit telephone number. The project has been setup in association with London Ambulance Service, a UK Government Agency, which has provided the processes, systems, protocols, training and project implementation assistance to 1298.

  The Vision   
  The Mission    
  Core Values
  Core Team
  Performance and Achievements
  Alliance Support Partners

The Vision

To assist saving human lives by becoming the leading network of Life Support Ambulances in India.

• Reaching the best quality Life Support Ambulance Service fastest to the patient / victim
• Meeting the need of Emergency Medical Service under an easy to remember emergency telephone Number 1298
• Creating a breed of self employed youngsters with a passion to save lives

Core Values

• We believe our first responsibility is to save the lives of people whom we are called to attend in medical emergencies. Honoring their trust, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to attempt to save the life of each person we are called to attend.
  
• We are responsible to our doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and other employees, the men and women who work with us. We respect the individuality of each employee and foster an environment, in which employees' creativity and productivity are encouraged, recognized, valued and rewarded.
  
• We think of our franchisees, suppliers & associates as partners who share our goal of achieving the highest quality standards and the most consistent level of service in our efforts to save lives. In working with us, our suppliers and associates must have an opportunity to make a fair profit.
  
• We believe in conducting our business activities with integrity and respect while building mutually beneficial and enduring relationships with all of our stakeholders.
  
• We are responsible to the communities, in which we live and work, and to the world community as well. We must be good citizens, support good works and charities and bear our fair share of taxes. We must encourage civic improvements and better health and education. We must maintain in good order the property we are privileged to use, protecting the environment and natural resources.
  
• Finally, we are responsible to our financial supporters. The service must make a sound surplus for sustainability. We must experiment with new ideas.

Core Team

Mentor and Guide

• Mr. Sam Pitroda

1298 Medical Council, National

• Dr. Paresh Navalkar
• Dr. Ajay Desai
• Dr. Percy Barucha

1298 Medical Council, International

• Dr. Unni Mooppan
• Dr. T O Shanavas

The core group has been motivated deeply from personal experiences to step out of the Corporate Life to take this project forward.

The core team consists of the following professionals

1. Ravi Krishna - Director
2. Naresh Jain - Director
3. Manish Sancheti - Director
4. Sweta Mangal - CEO

Besides the above we have a team of 240 people which includes

• 14 staff in call center
• 34 Doctors
• 14 Sales staff
• 24 Support Staff
• 146 Helpers & Drivers

Performance & Achievements

Dial 1298 for Ambulance project has made an impact in saving more than 50,000 lives in Mumbai. The service model has been proven over the last 36 months and we have been able to sustain the operations from our own revenue and we expect to increase the utilization of the Ambulances during the current financial year still further improving the financials. On an average we do 70 - 150 calls per day, out which 60 - 70 calls are done by 50 of our own ambulances and balance by our associate ambulances in Mumbai. We have also provided free or subsidized calls to over 15,000 patients making the service available across all strata of the society. The Dial 1298 for Ambulance service is free for Accident & Disaster victims.

We have also been successful in attracting the following world leaders to support the project over the last one year by concluding close partnerships or associations:

• London Ambulance Service
• New York Presbyterian Hospitals , University Hospital of Cornell and Columbia Medical Schools
• Harvard Humanitarian Initiative
• AAPI - American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin
• AHA - American Heart Association

We were also very active in the disaster management activities during the unfortunate 7/11 bomb blasts in Mumbai. Our Ambulances were the first ones to reach two of the incident scenes from where the team transferred number of injured peoples to the hospitals. We also were active by providing medical relief to Mumbai citizen’s post the July 2005 floods by distributing medicines worth over Rs. 40.00 Lakhs to over 32,000 families in association with Tata Power. Our Ambulances were also sent as standby to Navapur during the Bird Flu breakout in early 2006.

1298 goes to Kerala
We have also launched the ‘Dial 1298 for Ambulance’ service in Kerala on the 31st of December 2007 in the districts of Ernakulam and Thrissur with an initial fleet of 10 Ambulance. On the 1st of July 2008 we expanded to two more districts of Kerala (Alappuzha and Kottayam ) taking the total number of Ambulance in Kerala to 20 (10 Advance Life Support & 10 Basic Life Support).

1298 initiates First Aid Workshops
We firmly believe that it’s not just enough to provide an Ambulance service. During any medical emergency, the person in the proximity of the victims is the one who can decide whether the person lives or dies. In most cases people want to help but realize they neither know how to and even when they act, they tend to do it the wrong way. We at ‘Dial 1298 for Ambulance’ along with Lifesupporters Institute of Health Science (LIHS) has started an initiative wherein we give free First Aid and Basic Life Support training to schools and colleges throughout Mumbai.

1298 helps Women in Mumbai
Dial 1298 is also a Woman’s Helpline. We help women in distress; get in touch with the right NGO who can help them depending on the issue. This initiative materialized by Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani, the Sheriff of Mumbai in reaching out to women in Mumbai. The Women’s helpline receives around 20-25 calls on a daily basis. To take this initiative forward, Dial 1298 for Ambulance along with the Sheriff of Mumbai, Akshara foundation and Times Foundation brought our the Woman’s Resource Directory which has the numbers of around 75 NGO’s in Mumbai dealing with various issues from Counseling services, short stay home, legal support & health support. This directory was launched on the 9th of September 2008 by Sachin Tendulkar at H.R College along with Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahni (Sheriff of Mumbai) and Sweta Mangal (CEO of Dial 1298 for Ambulance). The Women’s Directory is available free of cost at Times Response office and ‘Dial 1298 for Ambulance’ office.

1298 provides relief to Bihar Flood Victims
"Dial 1298 for Ambulance' along with Honorable Sheriff of Mumbai Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani, Indian Oil Corporation, Goonj and TNT Express supported by Times Foundation ran an initiative whereby basic materials such as Dry Food Items (Rice, Dal, Sugar, Milk Powder etc.), Utensils, Clothes, Bed Sheets, Blankets etc were collected at Kiosks in Indian Oil Petrol Pumps (Gas Stations) at various locations in Mumbai for the aid of the Bihar Flood Victims. This collection drive was on from 16th September 2008 to 22nd September 2008. The material collected has been sent to Bihar immediately by TNT Express and distributed amongst the flood victims through NYK (Nehru Yuva Kendra) and Goonj. We have also dispatched Ambulances to Bihar, where they are currently helping in medical relief operations in relief camps.

Awards for 1298

• Dial 1298 for Ambulance has been awarded the Godfrey Phillip Bravery Gold Award 2007 for Social Act of Courage and Times Foundation Recognition Award for life saving service to Mumbai.
  
  
• Dial 1298 for Ambulance was also awarded the Godfrey Phillip Bravery Sliver Award -2007 for Social Act of Courage at the National Level.

Supporters of Dial 1298 for Ambulance project:

• London Ambulance Service
• Tata AIG Life
• British Council
• Red Swastik Society
• Rotary Club of Bombay
• Center for the Study of Social Change
• Times Foundation
• ICICI Bank
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)
• Reliance Industries
• State Bank of India
• Playwin Foundation
• Federal Bank
• HSBC Bank
• Mather Projects
• GTN Textiles
• Kalliyath Group
• Confederation of Indian Industry
• Society for Emergency Medicine in India