Concerning emergency ambulance response times revealed
Officially recorded emergency ambulance response times have plummeted in Gauteng with only 54 per cent of callouts being responded to in 15 minutes or less.
Gauteng’s ambulances are taking longer than ever to get to where they’re needed, according to Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health.
Bloom says, “Officially recorded emergency ambulance response statistics have plummeted in Gauteng. Last year, 77 per cent of all Priority 1 calls in urban areas were responded to within 15 minutes. This year, only 54 per cent of such calls were responded to in 15 minutes.
“This is revealed in the Gauteng Health Department’s First Quarter Report which was recently tabled in the Gauteng Legislature and covers the April to June period. According to the department ‘a large majority of P1 calls are delayed due to location of dispatch points in relation to pick-up points and the districts such as City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane and Sedibeng are often affected. The ongoing challenge of both staff and vehicle shortages also impacts negatively on response times.’
Bloom added only R199 million (17 per cent) of the R1,2 billion Emergency Medical Services budget for 2016/ 17 had been spent by the end of June.
“I am very concerned about the poor ambulance response times in Gauteng and the shortage of working ambulances, even though the budget is typically underspent. This leads to tragedies like the ambulance that did not arrive to pick up the late Mandoza in Soweto until three hours after it was called.
“The new DA-run municipalities will need to work with the provincial health department to ensure that ambulances reach 80 per cent of all Priority 1 emergency patients within 15 minutes, which is the world class standard.”
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