General Incorporated Association HAWK CSR Hiroshima Medical Ambulance ServiceHiroshima for Global Peace

General Incorporated Association HAWK CSR Hiroshima Medical Ambulance Service

A private ambulance service provider addressing the SDGs?!　
– The message that Japan needs to hear in the face of declining birthrates –

Targets

Reduce the percentage of ambulances dispatched for “inter-hospital transfer” to 10% or less of all dispatched ambulances by 2025.

This is who we are!

With the concept of “creating a bright future that can be handed down to children,” and under the three principles of “reducing ambulance dispatches and promoting the first aid method,” “reaching out to those in need,” and “collaborating with medical and welfare institutions and nationwide transfer service providers,” we are engaged in promotion activities of the private ambulance service and first aid method.

Initiative details

We are a private ambulance service provider that offers a transfer service for patients with lower urgency and criticality. A “private ambulance service” is attracting attention as a transfer service whose need has become apparent as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the use of ambulances as mere means of travel, such as for hospital visits, has become a problem, we are contributing to the appropriate use of ambulances by providing an alternative transfer service in place of ambulances.
The service is similar to nursing care taxies, but unlike nursing care taxies, private ambulances are equipped with medical equipment and have nurses on board, making it possible to continue medical treatment, such as suctioning and EKG monitoring, while in transit. The service is also available for those who are not necessarily in need of an ambulance, but are anxious about using a nursing care taxi.

Private ambulance/nursing care taxi (equipped with a suction device)

Since nursing care taxies and private ambulance services are a type of taxi business, meaning that they have a system of receiving fares and service fees from users, this sector’s significance of existence is created by the users. Since it is stipulated that these transfer services should be operated on a reservation basis, revenue will decrease if there are no applications from users. The demand for the services is expected to be higher in the future, triggered by the latter-stage aging population, and the number of service providers will need to increase, but some providers have closed their businesses due to financial difficulties.
Therefore, we are trying to implement a marketing theory that incorporates a system of monthly payment contracts with medical institutions and nursing homes, whereby regular revenue will be guaranteed and sustained.

As a project that started in April, we dispatched nursing care taxies as a window for transfer service providers in Hiroshima City for the relocation of the current Hiroshima City North Medical Center Asa Citizens Hospital. In July, we participated in the first marine sporting event in Hiroshima (Aquathlon Kurahashi), in which our vehicle was used as a first aid vehicle.

Rescue for an event – at “Aquathlon Kurahashi”

If private ambulance services become as widespread as nursing care taxies in the future, the problem of increased ambulance dispatches can be alleviated. This may help suppress the increase in the supplemental budget for the Fire Department, which in turn may reduce the amount of taxes to be paid by future children. We are conscious of not creating a world where children cannot talk about their dreams because they do not have money. At the same time, through study sessions for local in-home long-term care support offices and speeches at Rotary Clubs, we will also ask users to be aware of their responsibility so that ambulances can rush promptly to those who really need them.

In this way, we aim to provide health and welfare to all people through the enhancement of the transfer service.

In addition, we provide guidance to help people to respond early to illness or injury of their immediate family members by promoting the Red Cross first aid method, aiming to improve their awareness of prevention of and their ability to take an initial response to illness or injury. By doing so, we will contribute to the development of a community where people can continue to live.

Key Points

In Japan, due to declining birthrates and the aging population, the producing and consumer populations will continue to decrease in the future in all industries. Additionally, hospital care has been shifting to home care, and the proportion of the population aged 75 and over is expected to reach its peak in 2055. Therefore, we believe that development of the transfer industry will be necessary to maintain the QOL of the elderly in the near future.
In the changing environment caused by low birthrates and the aging population, thinking about what kind of system creation is a wise approach for the elderly and children will lead to a better future for Japan in and after 2055. As a project beyond that, we aim to increase the consumer population, which is decreasing in a society with declining birthrates.