TN emergency hotline now accepts location via chatbot

Chennai: EMRI Green Health Services, an agency outsourced by the state govt for emergency services has turned to QR codes and WhatsApp chatbots to help users share their location. The move comes after the govt failed to sway the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for sharing caller locations on the 108 helpline. Health minister Ma Subramanian launched the facility for a fleet of 1,355 ambulances across the state. "Under the new system, patients or attendants can scan a QR code to access the TN Health Systems Project's chatbot, available on the WhatsApp number 9445030725, or send a direct message (by saving the number). Sending ‘hi' triggers a welcome message prompting them to select ‘book ambulance' from a list of services. They then click ‘send location', after which 108 staff call and gather emergency details before dispatching an appropriate ambulance. Callers then receive the ambulance number, driver's name, and live tracking via WhatsApp and SMS," Subramanian said.
During traditional 108 calls, call centre staff take an average of 2.32 minutes to gather details from callers, sometimes stretching to 13 minutes, data show. "Most of the time goes into nailing the exact location," said the agency's state head of operations M Selvakumar. "Pinpointing spots on long highways without shops, hotels or signals is especially tough." Conveying precise directions to drivers adds to the delay. Though ambulances reach scenes in 10.38 minutes on average, unclear locations can push this to nearly 30 minutes, he added. Experts, however, slammed the new system as impractical for emergencies. The new system ignores people without smartphones or digital literacy, and can be used only in times of non-emergency. For instance, callers who fail to send locations after requesting an ambulance — or even after the first message — do not receive a call back from staff.