World’s largest Emergency Medical Services (EMS) company which operates in 35 countries officially launched its services in Colombo yesterday.

Falck group from Denmark reached Sri Lankan shores making Sri Lanka one of the first Asian countries to have its services.

“We have technology, we have the expertise but we needed people with passion and those who have a vision for providing EMS. That is why we decided to come to Sri Lanka,” said Falck CEO Allan Soegaard Larsen prior to the launch yesterday.

The first hour after an accident which is also called the “golden hour” among the clinical community is the most crucial period for the victim’s safety and as Larsen pointed out in Sri Lanka, majority of the cases do not receive proper medical attention before admitting the victims to hospitals.

In Sri Lanka, 69% of accident victims are transported in trishaws and Larsen noted that it is of utmost importance to stabilize the condition of the patient as it could be a matter of life and death.

Falck Sri Lanka which will be operating as a joint BOI venture with 50% of shares being owned by the local community and the rest 50% by Falcks group, aims to ensure the safety and health Sri Lankans with a team of trained doctors and paramedics.

The company currently has 6 ambulances and 9 motor cycles which are set with all the equipment needed for paramedics and the ambulance is similar to a mobile intensive care unit in a hospital.Their services also include over the phone instructions in case of a health emergency as they have a trilingual emergency communication which operates 24 hours a day and 365- days of the year. Their ambulances are GPS tracked ensuring quick dispatches via the hotline 1990.Falck also provides house visits where doctors and physiotherapists will arrive at houses for health check ups, bloods samples or any other acute illness. Their membership can be obtained by signing up through telecommunication networks in Sri Lanka.