Health minister hands over 20 ambulances

KWAZULU-Natal Health Minister, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo officially handed over 20 ambulances, just in time before the start of the December holiday season.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is one of the three core pillars in health service delivery, standing as it does alongside primary health care (PHC) and hospital services.

Speaking at the official handover in Moses Mabhida, Dhlomo said, “This component is crucial in the attainment of the core outcome of our government which is to ensure a long and healthy life for all South Africans.” This outcome is measured in four specific areas which are, improving life expectancy, improving mother and child health and survival, reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS and TB; and improving health system effectiveness.

“We are a province that is home to more than 10 million people which amounts to 21 per cent of the population of the country. At least 80 per cent of these people depend on public health sector for their medical and health needs.

“Our Emergency Medical Service is the largest in the country, operating more than 300 ambulances and having more than 2 500 dedicated paramedics in its employ,” said Dhlomo.

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Like other parts of the country, Dhlomo said the province of KwaZulu-Natal is besieged by a quadruple burden of diseases, which is characterised by four epidemics; namely TB, alongside HIV and AIDS; high maternal and child mortality; non-communicable diseases (such as cancer, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, among others); and violence, injuries and trauma.

“Ambulances are basically a Mobile Emergency Clinic whose personnel are trained to drive it; resuscitate and/or stabilise a patient using sophisticated techniques, equipment and drugs. Everything is done to ensure that the patient maintains his or her condition of stability during the ambulance ride.

“However, due to the vastness of our province and the rough terrain of some of our roads, our vehicles accumulate high mileage very quickly, which means that they are subject to extraordinary wear and tear, and reach their sell-by date (250 000km) very quickly. They constantly need to be repaired and in some cases replaced. And because replacing them does not come cheap, we are sometimes forced to soldier on and continue using them even when they have reached that replacement threshold.

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“Due to budgetary constraints, we have managed to procure a total of 20 ambulances this time around, at a cost of R15 million. The ambulances that we are handing over are fully equipped to an Intermediate Life Support level, and are in line with the new EMS regulations. They will be distributed to all 11 districts to complement the existing operational fleet during the festive season, and beyond. We see investments in new Ambulances as a means to enhance the working environment for this sector whose nature of work is characterised by emergency and urgency,” he said.

He added that the department is relying on the people to safeguard the ambulances, which are made available to assist those requiring emergency medical care during.

“It only when that happens that we can successfully deliver on our noble mandate of delivering “a long and healthy life for all South Africans.”

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