For people across Manali and the surrounding mountain communities, access to advanced healthcare can be challenging. Lady Willingdon Hospital serves patients from a wide region, including remote parts of Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi, Killar and beyond. In some cases, patients who need advanced treatment must travel several hours to reach a higher-level medical centre.
When a patient is critically ill, the journey to another hospital is not simply transportation. The journey itself can be a critical part of their care. Some patients need continuous oxygen, cardiac monitoring, assisted ventilation or emergency support while being transferred. Mountain roads, long distances and changing road conditions can make these transfers even more challenging.
For prolonged transfers involving critically ill patients, a dedicated Critical Care Ambulance with appropriate equipment can provide the level of support needed throughout the journey. This is why Lady Willingdon Hospital needs a dedicated Critical Care Advanced Life Support Ambulance based in Manali.
An Ambulance That Has Served Manali for Years
Lady Willingdon Hospital has provided ambulance services to the people of Manali and surrounding mountain communities for many years.
The existing ambulance has supported emergency referrals, trauma cases, critically ill patients, obstetric emergencies and transfers for specialised treatment unavailable locally. In many cases, timely transportation has been an essential link between local care and higher-level medical treatment.
But the ambulance is now ageing and requires urgent replacement. For a critically ill patient, a vehicle breakdown or mechanical failure during a long-distance transfer could create an additional risk. Replacing the existing ambulance is therefore a patient-safety requirement, not simply an infrastructure upgrade.
What Will a Critical Care Ambulance Provide?
The proposed ambulance will be equipped to support the stabilisation and safe transportation of critically ill patients.
It will include equipment such as:
• Transport ventilator
• Defibrillator and multi-parameter monitoring
• Adequate oxygen supply
• Advanced airway and resuscitation equipment
• Stretcher, spine board and cervical collars
• Splints and trauma stabilisation equipment
• Patient extrication and evacuation equipment
• Nasogastric tube and catheterisation equipment
• Warming blankets and patient-care essentials
• IV fluids, emergency medicines and first-aid supplies
This will allow trained medical personnel to continue providing essential support while a patient is being transferred to a higher centre.
More Than Transportation
For a critically ill patient, an ambulance can become a mobile extension of critical care.
The goal is to create a safer chain of care:
Stabilisation → Continuous Monitoring → Assisted Ventilation → Safe Transport → Higher-Level Care
This can help reduce delays in emergency transfers and strengthen the link between care at Lady Willingdon Hospital and higher-level treatment.
A Real-Life Example
Recently, a patient was brought to Lady Willingdon Hospital with a third-degree heart block following a heart attack. In this condition, the heart’s electrical signals are severely disrupted, affecting its ability to maintain a normal rhythm and pump effectively.
At the hospital, an external pacemaker was used to keep her heart beating while arrangements were made for definitive treatment. However, an external pacemaker is a temporary measure. She needed a permanent pacemaker, which was available only at a select tertiary hospital.
Our team was able to transport her safely while continuing the necessary medical support throughout the journey. She reached the tertiary centre and received the permanent pacemaker she needed.
Without timely transfer and the ability to provide critical support during the journey, the outcome could have been fatal.
This is why a Critical Care Ambulance matters. The medical care does not stop when a patient leaves the hospital. It must continue throughout the journey.
Our Goal: ₹36 Lakhs
Lady Willingdon Hospital is seeking support to establish this Critical Care Ambulance Service for Manali and the surrounding region.
The estimated capital requirement is ₹36 lakh, covering the ambulance, conversion and essential critical-care equipment. This is more than an investment in a vehicle. It is an investment in safer emergency transfers, timely access to higher care and a stronger healthcare link for people living across the mountains.
Lady Willingdon Hospital already provides 24-hour emergency care in Manali. The new ambulance will help extend that care beyond the hospital and throughout the journey to the next level of treatment.
Help us bring a Critical Care Ambulance to Manali.
When the road to higher care is long, no patient should have to make that journey without the medical support they need.
👉 Support the Critical Care Ambulance initiative and help us bring critical care closer to the people who need it.