People will soon be able to book their ride to hospital using a mobile app from India
A new invention is coming to the UK later this year, which will allow people to book private ambulances directly using a mobile app.
Currently, ambulances are used between health clinics, but no mechanism exists where these can be connected to the patients. The developers hope the app will make the process much simpler and easier, thereby saving money for healthcare providers in the UK.
The company behind it is Indian firm Advatech Healthcare, which is in talks with a London-based ambulance company following the first ever trade mission – bioConclave – held to develop links between the UK and Indian health sectors.
Dr Bala Raju, medical director at Advatech, said:
We’re also well set to launch our mobile ambulance app later this year, which will play a huge role in making it easier for patients to book an ambulance direct.We will be initially working with private sector but will look to be winning NHS contracts in future.
Opportunity in India
The Indian government has committed to raise spending on healthcare from 1.1 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP over the nest five years, while private spending in the industry is rising at an even faster rate.
The Indian biotech market was worth$4.3bn (£2.9bn) in 2013 and is forecast to grow to $100bn (£68bn) by 2025.
As a result, countries across the world are increasing their healthcare trade with India. In Brazil and China it amounts to £133m and £123, respectively. The UK is currently lagging behind, with India currently occupying just 0.03 per cent of our healthcare trade.