THE Yangon Division Traffic Police Force plans to establish a three-digit hotline service for medical emergencies and ambulance response, said an official from the force.

“We haven’t chosen the numbers yet, but we will make an announcement when we do,” the commander of the force, Police Lieutenant Colonel Aung Naing, said at a road safety seminar held in Yangon October 25 and 26.

He also said members of the police force have been trained for emergency care and 28 first-aid kits have been issued.

“Six ambulances crewed by nurses and doctors will begin operating in the city soon after the three-digit hotline has been established,” he said.

Lt Col Aung Naing also explained that the hotline can be used not only for emergencies but also to file complaints about bus workers and traffic police.

According to figures released by the Orthopaedic Department of the Institute of Medicine (1), 91.9 percent of road accident casualties are carried to hospitals in taxis, 1.8pc in buses, 1.3pc in ambulances, 0.7pc by trishaw and the balance by other means.

Dr Kyaw Myint Naing, an orthopaedic surgeon from the department, said at the seminar that most fatalities from traffic accidents occur due to lack of emergency medical care.

He said skilled ambulance crews trained in the use of modern medical equipment were needed to treat and stabilise patients as quickly as possible before taking them to hospital.

“In one case, an accident victim with a broken neck died before arriving at the hospital because she was put into a taxi with people who didn’t know her neck was broken and didn’t know how to provide medical care,” he said.

Statistics show that road accidents now rank third in the causes of death in Myanmar (after malaria and respiratory disease), up from fifth in 2000, Dr Kyaw Myint Naing said.