Ahmedabad, Oct 5 (PTI) All 1,776 government-owned ambulances in Gujarat will be equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) to provide real-time data about patients' location to doctors, said state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel on Thursday.

He made the announcement during a review meeting he chaired in Gandhinagar on the overall healthcare scenario in Gujarat, said an official release.

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"When a patient is referred to another hospital in a GPS-enabled ambulance, the doctor and other staff at the receiving hospital would know the exact location of the patient using the 'Smart Referral' mobile app and plan accordingly. This new system will alert the receiving doctors about incoming patients, their condition and expected time of arrival," said the release.

The review meeting was attended by superintendents of all the government-run hospitals and health centres as well as CDHOs and CDMOs of all districts.

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During the meeting, Patel said his department had started the process to appoint specialist doctors in different regions of the state, including tribal areas.

Moreover, a tender process to select agencies for providing class-3 and class-4 employees in government-run hospitals on an outsource basis has also been completed and the new staff will be deployed soon, the release said.

In view of the dog menace in hospitals, Patel directed officials to find a permanent solution to restrict the entry of animals in hospitals.

He also directed officials to make sure patients coming to government-run facilities do not face any issues, adding they must adopt a "humanitarian approach" while dealing with patients.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)