Saving Lives Effectively with Public Private Partnership model

Interview with Mr. Venkat Changavalli, CEO, GVK EMRI

In the city of Hyderabad at a place called Karmanghat, Singareni Colony, a huge cluster of huts caught fire. Fire control at 108 was immediately contacted and the nearest fire station was also informed. Fire was successfully put off with no causalities of life or injury reported. 108 ambulances had also reached the spot.

During the Mecca Masjid Bomb Blast on 18th May, 2007 caught, one ambulance reached the spot in one minute and two more reached the spot in another 15 minutes. Ambulances made 6 trips, shifted 13 severely injured people and 23 people with minor injuries. 5 dead bodies were shifted to hospitals, despite stone pelting, etc. Excellent coordination between ERC team was shown, hospitals and police received recognition from the public, media and Government.

No matter what the scale, nor the incident, the Emergency Management & Research Institute endeavors to respond effectively and prides itself with outstanding achievements, including:

• 433 M population covered in 10 States
• 91% calls taken in first ring
• 9,700 + emergencies handled per day (3.6 Million cumulative)
• Pregnancy related - 25%, Vehicular Trauma – 22%, Acute Abdomen – 14% Cardiac – 4%, Suicidal – 4%, Respiratory – 4%, Animal Bites 3%
• 2,000 Ambulances - 5 trips a day
• < 15 minutes (urban) and < 25 minutes (rural) Ambulances reached
• One Center for 40 M population against one for every 0.05 M population in USA
• Cost per ambulance trip Rs. 600 against $600 in USA
• 13,526 + EMRI Associates
• 6,800 + Private Hospitals / Nursing homes (31% in AP and 15% in Guj - patients admitted in pvt hospitals)
• 2,000 Police / Fire Stations
• 200+ lives were saved (80,000+ till now) and 9,500 victims received timely, high-quality pre-hospital care

Arc Media Global Center for Business Strategy and Tactics interviews Mr. Venkat Changavalli, EMRI’s most revered Chief Executive Officer and delves deeper into EMRI’s secret ingredients and an insider view of its team and the life of an emergency responder:


Arc Media Global: Most people wold have read from the news about your new partner, GVK. Has your organisational direction changed since the introduction of this new partnership?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Since GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK EMRI) was born in April, 2005, we remain committed to provide integrated emergency response services in a Public Private Partnership mode with a vision to provide leadership in saving 1 M Lives per annum nationally by 2011 and establish GVK EMRI as a Premier Research and Training Institute in Emergency Management in Public Private Partnership framework.

Our goal and commitment has not changed since 4 years ago.

Arc Media Global: What impact could we see now that Dr. GVK Reddy took over EMRI management?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: As Dr. GVK Reddy, Chairman of GVK took over management of EMRI in June 2009, he drives EMRI’s further commitment to provide services surpassing global standards with improved transparency following the modern principles of management and leadership to serve the nation of India. We also want to step up further and work towards taking the organization across the Country.

Arc Media Global: Despite all the challenges faced by EMRI, your growth, service, awards and recognition have been unprecented. What would you say be the secret?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: The Public Private Partnership model has been a strong component in our success. It is the way of tapping into various partnerships and leverage on them so you can save more lives and respond to emergencies / disasters more effectively, which I shall be expounding at the EMPRR 2009 Global Summit & Exhibition in October 7-8, 2009 in Singapore.

Arc Media Global: Could you expound on some of your best practices attributed to the implementation of the model?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: The organization is based on the following best practices:

1. Process of Emergency Management

• Emergency victim / helper dials 108
• Sense: Communication Officer (CO) collects facts, Dispatch Officer (DO) scopes emergency and assigns strategically located vehicle (Ambulance/ Police / Fire)
• Reach: Vehicle(s) to reach the site
• Care: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) to provide pre-hospital care while transporting patient/ victim to appropriate hospital for stabilization
• Emergency Response Centre Physician (ERCP) supports CO, DO, EMT, patient and hospital admission.

The Government of India has allotted a three-digit number – 108 and made it toll-free across each State for all emergencies. 108 is accessible from fixed lines and mobile phones.

Arc Media Global: Going back to the PPP model, how do you describe this in a nutshell?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Essentially, operational expenses and infrastructure is borne by Government (Public). The GVK EMRI bears costs of Leadership, Technology (Process, Medical & Research) and provide free IT solutions through an agreement with Mahindra Satyam. And finally, management is undertaken by GVK EMRI to sustain long-term performance at international quality and speed.

Arc Media Global: You mentioned international quality and speed. Have you achieved your desired levels in these aspects?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Indeed, we are on track. Now, we have 2006 state of the art Ambulances in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh to provide pre-hospital care covering a population of 433million. Infrastructure-wise, GVK EMRI is housed in 39 acres campus at Hyderabad with modern facilities for Emergency Management, Research and Training. And on the technology front, state of the art integrated technology is deployed in our Emergency Response Centers which enable us to provide world class services.

Arc Media Global: Your staff seems to be making a mark as well in helping build your organisation. Would you say your team is also the key reason for your success?

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Certainly, our employees are described as Energetic, Modest, Reliable and Inquisitive with Commitment, Ability, Resourcefulness and Empathy, whether they work as Communication Officers, Dispatch Officers, Emergency Medical Technicians, Pilots and support staff.


Arc Media Global: We also observe that EMRI is already expanding alliances and partnership with global institutions.

Mr. Venkat Changavalli: Indeed, GVK EMRI is having partnership with global organizations, such as Stanford, CMU, 9-1-1, STC, AAPI, AAEMI, Geomed, and a lot more in order to strengthen our competencies and skills and to share the best international practices.

For live discussion of the EMRI case study, attend the EMPRR 2009 Global Summit and Exhibition (7-8 October 2009, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore)—the biggest gathering of emergency and risk professionals in the business of ensuring business continuity, securing businesses and saving lives.