Residents angry with paramedics

KABOKWENI – Community members of the informal settlement Mhlumeni near Thembelihle said they were fed-up with the poor service of paramedics at Themba Hospital.

This comes after a 28-year-old woman allegedly lost her unborn baby after she had experienced complications and the ambulance failed to arrive on time.

Speaking to Mpumalanga News, one of the community members who were there when the woman was experiencing the complications, Ms Nomsa Shabangu said, “We started to call an ambulance at 03:00 but the paramedics only arrived around 05:30. The first time when we called, we were told that all the ambulances were operating around Pienaar and Rob Ferreira Hospital. They also told us there were no ambulances in the area which means that we were supposed to wait for them to return.

“The woman was in agony and a neighbour asked someone to transport her to the hospital. It was however too late as the woman had already bled for hours,”

she explained.

Sources within the hospital revealed that only three ambulances of the hospital serviced the whole of the area.

Another resident added, “This is not the first time to experience such a crisis. A few months ago an elderly woman almost died in her house after the paramedics failed to arrive on time. We don’t understand why the hospital only has three ambulances because KaBokweni is very big and we don’t understand what the ambulances were doing at Robs because they were supposed to be at Themba Hospital.

This publication learnt that KaBokweni included many areas such as Ngodini, Clau Clau, Nkomeni, Mbonisweni, Manyeveni, Nkohlakalo, Mdlankomo, Dwaleni, Nkomeni, Tekatakho, Khumbula, Zwelisha, just to name but a few.

This whole drama came despite the fact that the MEC for health, Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini early this year officially launched 182 emergency services vehicles, which includes 21 ambulances in the province at Mathibela Stadium in Marite and which also cost the department an amount of R8,7 million and was aimed at improving services, including in rural areas.

Speaking to this reporter, the provincial spokesperson of the department, Mr Ronnie Masilela said, “I confirm receipt of your query. As a matter of principle, on average an ambulance should arrive where it is called in 15 minutes for urban areas and 40 minutes for rural areas. As for the case you have brought to our attention, it is totally unacceptable if it is true that patients should wait for an ambulance for more than three hours. We will definitely investigate to get to the bottom of this issue.”