A FOOD delivery app has started offering a private ambulance service, looking to use its logistics know-how to help bolster the country’s patchy healthcare system.
Zomato’s online shopping arm Blinkit said it was rolling out ambulance services with essential life-saving equipment, medicine and trained paramedics.
The platform has pushed the limits of rapid mobile commerce over the last few years, with the help of a network of local warehouses and tens of thousands of delivery riders. But its healthcare foray marks new territory for the company.
“We are taking our first step towards solving the problem of providing quick and reliable ambulance service in our cities,” Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said in a post on X.
“Profit is not a goal here.”
The app is starting small -- only five ambulances are currently available in Gurugram city – but it plans to expand to “all major cities over the next two years”.
While the initial rollout may be limited, it will likely be welcomed in a country whose healthcare system is inadequately funded and understaffed. — AFP
