FROM PANIC TO PRIORITY: HOW EMERGENCY CALLS ARE TRIAGED ACROSS SINDH

When people call 1122, most expect one thing: an ambulance service, immediately. But modern emergency response systems do more than send a vehicle — they send the right help to the right emergency at the right time.

That’s why Sindh Integrated Emergency & Health Services (SIEHS-1122), formerly known as Aman Foundation, follows a globally aligned Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS). Leading 911 emergency services in the United States use the same structured triage approach to assess calls within seconds and prioritize life-threatening situations.

In Sindh, the scale is significant. SIEHS-1122 serves a population of around 60 million. It operates across all 30 districts and 9 talukas with a fleet of 627+ vehicles, managing nearly 24,000 calls every day.

This is also why SIEHS-1122 does not treat ambulances as transport alternatives. They function as critical care units on wheels, reserved for emergencies where minutes decide outcomes. When a case is non-critical, the system does not dismiss it; it manages it within the system to keep ambulances available for those who cannot wait.

This is where public sentiment often surfaces: “Call ki thi… ambulance nahi aayi.” Yet that decision, often unseen, may save another life at that very moment.

What many people don’t realize is that help begins the instant the call connects. Through its Command & Control Centre (CCC), trained call-takers guide callers in real time and assist with CPR, childbirth, choking, and bleeding control. They turn critical minutes into lifesaving action, even before an ambulance arrives.

If the system dispatched ambulances for every non-emergency complaint, it would slow down where speed matters most: cardiac arrests, severe trauma, strokes, breathing emergencies, childbirth complications, and major road incidents. MPDS ensures that dispatch decisions rely on medical priority, not just the urgency in a caller’s voice. It protects response times where survival depends on it, because in emergency care, the wrong dispatch is not just inefficient; it can be fatal.

Over time, SIEHS-1122 has helped save over 6.4 million lives through ICU-on-wheels ambulances equipped with 29 essential interventions. This shows that behind every response is a system designed not just to reach faster, but to respond smarter.

Because when it matters most, one message carries through: HOPE… IS ON THE WAY.