LIMPOPO – In light of the road accidents which occur during the festive season, it comes as a relief that the MEC for the Department of Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, has acquired 21 brand new ambulances.
The launch of these ambulances at Mantsole Traffic Control Centre on Tuesday took place after Ramathuba recently launched 10 ambulances, both to Pietersburg Provincial Hospital and in the Vhembe district.
Speaking at the launch she said she believes the arrival of the ambulances will enable more people to have access to the Emergency Medical Service (EMS). She said the ambulances would be shared among the five provincial districts.
She explained that the arrival of the new ambulances will ease the challenge of the shortage of EMS vehicles in the province.
“Through the fully equipped ambulances, we want to ensure that the province meets the national EMS norms regarding response time.
“We believe that the vehicles will be able to meet the 15-minute average response in urban areas and 40-minute in rural areas.
“In terms of job creation, we have a number of well-trained emergency medical practitioners which puts us in a good position.
“Today the department has a total number of 355 ambulances and the 21 additional procured ambulances will increase the total to 376 ambulances,” she further explained.
Acting Operational EMS Manager in the province, Solomon Mohale, said he believes that this will also help them a lot in improving their response time at their hospital.
Speaking on behalf of the Waterberg District Municipality, Mayor, Freddy Hlungwane, said motorists should prioritise road safety at all times and refrain from drinking and driving.
