India witnesses a surge in the demand for air ambulances, ICATT rising as a major player

• 258
• 0

Reshaping Medical Emergency

ICATT (International Critical Care Air Transfer Team), based in Yelahanka, Bangalore, is emerging as one of the game-changing air ambulance service providers in India. The FAM (Fellowship in Aviation Medicine) certified company was started in the year 2015 and has since reshaped the medical emergency services over the years.

The company was founded by Dr. Shalini Nalwad and Dr. Rahul Singh who were trained in Air Ambulance, Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS), and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the United Kingdom. Their experience spans over 15 years in ‘The National Health Service’ (NHS) based in the United Kingdom. Claimed to be the largest  Air Ambulance team in Asia, having an in-house training program, it is a vision for the duo to enhance the infrastructure of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in India and has enjoyed phenomenal success since its establishment.

ICATT has reportedly transported more than 1500 patients so far making it one of the most chosen companies in recent years. World-class medical facilities in the aircraft, highly experienced doctors, flying medics, paramedics, perfusionists, and expert operation team contribute to the success of the company.

ICATT air ambulance services & FAM (Fellowship in Aero Medical Science) are the entities of ICATT including  ICATT  Foundation, a non-profit organization for healthcare services led by Dr. Shalini Nalwad (Chairperson).

Weathering the storm of medical emergencies during the pandemic

During the pandemic, ICATT developed a standard operating procedure (SOP), which has tackled the challenges fairly well. Furthermore, the air ambulance company quickly imported isolation pods from Germany at the beginning of the pandemic while the team of sheer professionals was able to transport patients from Kolkata to Chennai in just two hours with their full-fledged ICU on board.

  

ICATT offers a wide range of air medical services such as Trauma Emergency Response, Planned Air Transfer, Organ Retrieval,  Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) transfers, High-Risk Obstetric Transfers, Neonatal and Paediatric Transportation Services in India, disaster management, and more.      

The vast expansion and its unique services

It’s been seven years since the company was established and its services are already available in most places in India and abroad. ICATT’s International Air Ambulance services are available flying from India to the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Singapore, & across Asia, Europe, and Africa. In India, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trivandrum, Goa, Mumbai, Patna, Bangalore, Hyderabad Tiruchi, Guwahati, Chennai, and Kochi are some of the places where the Air Ambulance services are offered while also offering flight ambulance services and emergency medical services in most parts of the country. ICATT recently opened its base in Male, Maldives.

While ICATT’s services are offered round the clock, transporting both domestic and International patients, organ transport, bed-to-bed transfer, partnerships that reduce costs of the patients and transporting more than one patient at a time depending on the factors involved, fast response, a highly qualified team of multi specialists, and advanced equipment used in the operations are some of the unique features of ICATT.

Surge in the demand for air ambulances

Fueled by the pandemic, the nation has witnessed an increase in the demand for air ambulances as there were several instances during covid times when patients living far away from cities were unable to receive treatment and were forced to be transported on the road which consumes a significant amount of precious time as it’s an emergency. As per the reports, ICATT’s air ambulance was employed once or twice a day before the pandemic but saw a huge uptick in the hiring rate during the second wave of COVID-19 where ICATT’s ambulances airlifted at least 5 patients per day. Moreover, many patients were unable to be airlifted due to the shortage of air ambulances.

Air evacuation pod by the Indian Naval which aids in isolating the patient during transportation and the German Isolation pod which is highly secure and eliminates the need for PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to the medical personnel are some of the recent advancements in air ambulance services. Additionally, the Karnataka government announced Air Ambulance services as part of the State's Budget in March 2022.

Incredible credibility of ICATT

ICATT Air Ambulance services has carried out the longest aeromedical retrieval from Portland(USA) to Chennai in a 26-hour flight. The groundbreaking accomplishment was covered on BBC News.

ICATT foundation, CIC holds a record in the World Book of Records, London, to have trained 28,762 students in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) at various places in Chitradurga, Karnataka, the highest number in a single day.

ICATT Air Ambulance services rescued patients from relief camps during the Kerala floods in 2018, free of cost. It was the first time in India, a private aircraft was used for a rescue mission in a natural disaster.

ICATT Air Ambulance Services is the first to have airlifted pre-term twin babies during a medical emergency.

ICATT Air Ambulance Services is the first to have treated a patient put inside a pod using ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation).

ICATT Air Ambulance Services is responsible for 94 % per cent of organ transfers in India.

ICATT Air Ambulance services have performed 225 ECMOs (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) in 18 months, the highest ever done.

ICATT Air Ambulance Services is an Indian player expanding exponentially, crossing borders.

Robust momentum of ICATT

All the operations are led by highly specialized doctors making no room for any blunder.  ICATT has its own Fellowship program, training a significant number of Doctors for Air Ambulance services.

During an interview with Dr. Shalini Nalwad, the Doctor said that a helicopter needs only a flat area of 50X50 meters with no overhead cables or wires, to airlift the patient. She also mentioned that every 4 minutes someone dies in an accident while 90% of the organ recipients (patients) die before they get the organ waiting on the list. The co-founder wants ICATT to be a major part in reducing the numbers significantly while 40% of the people who die from road accidents can be saved using Air Ambulance services. Additionally, Dr. Shalini said that timely intervention and stabilizing the patient with a team of highly professional doctors is the most important in Road Traffic Accidents because it buys more time for the patient to survive before reaching the hospital and not transfer the patient while in critical condition.

The leadership and compassion of Dr. Shalini Nalwad.

Dr. Shalini Nalwad, the co-founder of ICATT,  has always shown special care to the sick ones right since her childhood which naturally made her pursue MBBS. She was a bright student at school and was double promoted for her outstanding academic performance. After completing her MBBS from JSS Medical College based in Mysore, Dr. Shalini started her career as a resident in ICU at Sagar Apollo hospital for 6 months. She later went to the United Kingdom to study MRCA (Member of the Royal College of Anaesthetics) and eventually completed her FCAI   (Fellowship of the College of Anaesthetists of Ireland).

While in England, Dr. Shalini Nalwad was constantly hearing several tragic stories from India where many patients die on the way to the hospital while also having a personal experience where her own uncle passed away before reaching the hospital, due to an accident. It was so evident to her that India needs an Air Ambulance Service, hence Co-founded her own company with Dr. Rahul Singh Sardar and called it ICATT (International Critical Care Air Transfer Team) and has since brought many changes in the emergency medical response in the country and living by the name, they named the company. ICATT was instrumental in the writing of India’s regulation for Air Ambulance services that was established in the year 2017.

Future Prospects

ICATT is teaming up with the Government to establish free Air Ambulance services to the country, similar to that of the 108 Emergency.

ICATT is working closely with NAL (National Aerospace Laboratories)in converting an aircraft into a flying ICU.

Covid India Campaign under the aegis of ICATT Foundation is looking forward to organizing with Mr. Swadeep Pillarisetti Co-founder of CIC, a community CPR to train 3 lakh people in CPR from 87 gram panchayats in Chitradurga under the leadership of Mr. Naveen K S.

Covid India Campaign under the aegis of ICATT Foundation has done nearly 43 crores worth of work across India in the last 2 years. They have also adopted 10 taluk ICUs across Karnataka, continuing its revolutionary work in the medical field.

Moreover, ICATT is expanding to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and many other regions across the world in the coming years.

Link to ICATT website: https://www.icatt.in/