A Pretoria North family this week had to wait seven hours for an ambulance to arrive after a relative suffered a stroke.
The 60-year-old man later lost his life.
Around lunchtime on Tuesday, a call-out for an ambulance was sent to the Pretoria North sector 3 CPF after a resident had suffered a stroke.
“We waited nearly seven hours for an ambulance,” Ge Breytenbach, a member of the sector 3 CPF said.
The Tshwane emergency services ambulance was summoned to the man’s plot in Haakdoornboom around 12:10, but 40 minutes later there was still no sign of an ambulance.
“Nearly three hours later, around 14:52, there was still no sign of any ambulance. At some point, the CPF members was contacted to provide directions to the plot.
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“Later in the afternoon, the directions to the location where the elderly man was, were again given to the emergency personnel who were supposedly on the way to the scene,” said Breytenbach.
He said at some stage, they were told the ambulance was in Soshanguve and on its way.
“When we inquired why they took so long to respond to a life-threatening incident, they said they were not capable to assist in the life-threatening matter.”
Breytenbach said he was informed the next morning that the elderly man was taken to the Steve Biko hospital by friends, but that he passed away shortly after arrival.
Rekord has learnt of another claim of the EMS not responding to call-outs.
“The ambulance also didn’t arrive for my mother and she also died,” a resident, wishing to remain anonymous, said.
Tshwane emergency services management spokesperson Charles Mabaso said the matter was receiving attention and feedback would be provided.
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“The reference number is a Gauteng province reference number, but since the caller claims to have contacted 107, we as the Tshwane emergency services also need to determine as to what might have transpired,” Mabaso said.
The Gauteng health department has yet to comment.
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