A trio of MBAs launches a service that’s taking patients and their families across State borders.

They were from three continents and they met at a business school in France. Their idea: simplified medical transport as easy as ride-hailing for patients and caregivers. Prabhdeep Singh, originally from Chandigarh, and with work experience in Hyderabad, Antoine Poirson from France, and Jose Leon from Costa Rica, came up with StanPlus.

The year-old Hyderabad start-up opened with an offer to send an ambulance in under 15 minutes.

It got the most unusual requests. An ailing man was transported from Hyderabad to Guwahati – a 2,500 km drive –after his doctors informed his family that he was at the end of his life and suggested he be taken to his native place. The patient’s son turned to StanPlus and was even prepared to face a crisis en route. Mr. Singh, the CEO, says, “We arranged for an ambulance equipped with a body freezer and two drivers. Luckily, the person reached home alive.”

It recently ferried a four-hour-old baby from Hyderabad to Vizianagaram, a distance of 700 km. The vehicle had an incubator and a facility for light therapy. “A few days back, a lady gave birth to twins in an ambulance .”

The idea originated when Mr. Poirson, working with an energy major in Rajasthan, saw his colleague die in an accident because no ambulance was nearby. Mr. Singh, with his healthcare stint, saw the demand for a responsive ambulance service. The company is plugged into real-time live tracking, aided by a call centre. “We are not in the pay of hospitals, so the patient takes the call. The option is to go to the nearest hospital and charge per km,” he says. Hyderabad also has the emergency-only “108” ambulances. Only 20% of ambulance calls are emergencies, says Mr. Singh, who runs 300 vehicles.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Serish Nanisetti / Hyderabad – April 04th, 2018