Special Report - GIS Speeds Ambulatory ServicesWhen Each Passing Second Makes the
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Ahimesh Chandra Sarkar still shudders when he recalls that midsummer's day, 3 years ago. It was a hot, breezeless, August afternoon. He had come home from work with a minor ear infection, stopping along the way to pick up some ear drops at a local pharmacist. After lunch, he retired to his bedroom for his customary nap. The earache still nagged at him, so he administered a few drops of the antibiotic to soothe the pain before laying down for a relaxing few hours.
The symptoms were almost instantaneous, a general feeling of lethargy, his limbs beginning to feel as if weights had been attached to them. At first, Sarkar assumed that this was a result of his infection and a heavy lunch. An hour later he was virtually paralyzed; unable to move his head, his arms and legs laying almost lifeless beside him. Panic rose from deep inside Sarkar and with it a rush of adrenaline that allowed him to roll off the bed and onto the floor.
The vomiting now started and with it the pain, piercing as if an ice pick had been savagely shoved through his inner ear and into his brain. The screams caught in his throat as he helplessly thrashed around on the floor.
Busy in the next room, Sarkar's wife looked up with a start when she heard the loud thump. Hurrying towards the bedroom, she could faintly hear his retching and strangled screams. She flung open the door and rushed to the side of her husband's now semi-conscious body.
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"Time was certainly the critical factor for me," concluded Sarkar. "Without the fast action of the ambulance crew and their effective use of GIS technology, developed by tht Centre for GIS, I would not be here today to tell you my story."Ahimesh Chandra Sarkar |
In a flash, she leapt up, grabbed the telephone and shakily dialed 999, the emergency services number.
The operator requested the nature of the accident and the victim's address, which was immediately conveyed to the ambulance crew that was standing by. By typing in the address information on their Electronic Placefinder (EPF), developed by Qatar's Centre for GIS (CGIS), the crew was able to immediately determine both the location of the accident and the best route to quickly reach the victim. Within 5 minutes, they were at his house, carried him to the ambulance, and speeded off to the hospital through afternoon rush hour traffic.
Sarkar reached the emergency ward just in time. His heart had stopped beating and it was necessary to revive him with the use of electric shocks to the chest.
It was later determined that he had suffered an allergic reaction to the ear drops he had used. A tiny fissure in the ear drum allowed the antibiotic to reach the Vagus nerve, a cranial nerve that links the brain with the heart, its sensors regulating the heart rate. In Sarkar's case, the ear drops caused the Vagus nerve to slow the heart until it ultimately stopped! Fortunately, the illness was as brief as it was violent and the next day he had recovered enough to return home.
During his convalescence, Sarkar contemplated the rapid response of the ambulatory services that saved his life and learned of their use of GIS. He was somewhat familiar with the technology, having attended a seminar conducted by Zul Jiwani, Head of CGIS, 2 years earlier.
"In many countries, including Qatar, landmarks are the primary references that residents use for directions," observed Sarkar. "This is a very difficult means of operating emergency services. Qatar's EPF goes a long way in overcoming the problems in locating residences that these services face on a daily basis."
Sarkar hopes that some day Qatar's emergency service agencies will be able to implement a response system that will provide instant information about the location of the caller as soon as 999 is dialed. This will greatly aid those in need of medical attention because it is often difficult to convey clear instructions when involved in an emergency situation.
"Time was certainly the critical factor for me," concluded Sarkar. "Without the fast action of the ambulance crew and their effective use of GIS technology, developed by the Centre for GIS, I would not be here today to tell you my story."