Deepinder Goyal Says Blinkit Ambulance To Charge For Non-Emergency, Explains Why

Blinkit Ambulance, a service offering emergency medical transportation, has announced it will now charge a fee of Rs 2,500 for non-emergency transfers. The decision to introduce charges for routine journeys, such as hospital check-ups and home visits, comes after the company observed an increase in such bookings. Blinkit Ambulance founder Deepinder Goyal stated that the fee would be collected after the non-emergency trip and would be comparable to the rates charged by private ambulance operators. Emergency transfers, however, remain free of charge.

Goyal highlighted that the free service had been utilized for approximately 20,000 emergency cases over the past two years, and the company has not charged patients for any of these cases. The company aims to keep the emergency service free of cost in the future. During the announcement, Goyal emphasized that the free service was increasingly being used for routine journeys that could have been managed using ordinary private transport.

This shift in usage pattern raises concerns about the availability of fully equipped ambulances and paramedics for patients requiring urgent medical attention.

In response to this issue, Blinkit Ambulance has implemented the new pricing policy to deter non-emergency bookings from using emergency vehicles. The revenue generated from non-emergency transfers will be transferred to the Eternal Foundation, which operates the ambulance service, and will be used to support the expansion of its operations.

Goyal also addressed the shortage of trained and empathetic paramedics as a significant challenge in expanding the ambulance service while maintaining quality standards. To address this issue, the company is expanding its training academy, but Goyal assured that this expansion would not compromise the training standards.

Blinkit Ambulance aims to extend its 10-minute ambulance service to all major cities across India within the next two to four years. The founder of Zomato, Goyal, expressed his commitment to ensuring that the service continues to save lives and that the emergency fleet remains available for patients who require immediate medical assistance.