Ambulance service back on the road

STATE paramedic services in the uThungulu District are back in operation after Emergency Medical and Rescue Services (EMRS) employees returned to work on Monday night.

Only two night shifts were covered during the busy Easter weekend as the majority of EMRS staff continued with unprotected strike action, severely crippling healthcare services in the region.

Employees, who were targeted earlier in the week to prevent them from working, were reportedly ‘allowed’ to work the Saturday and Sunday night shift before the work stoppage ended the next day.

Counting the costs after the violent protests, which saw two ambulances hijacked and torched, sources close to the Zululand Observer said the damages stood at more than R3-million.

‘Each ambulance costs about R1.5-million, not including the customised equipment and monitors, which is irrecoverable. Some of the equipment is imported from Brazil and it will take time before the tender process is completed for new equipment.’

The uThungulu District currently has 95 EMRS ambulances servicing the area and a new fleet will only be introduced towards the latter part of this year.

Backlogs

There are further backlogs at Ngwelezana Hospital, as the service to transport referral patients to Durban was cancelled last Monday, leaving many patients stranded at the hospital and sleeping on the floor.

‘EMRS could not provide the service to patients who had appointments in Durban. One cannot count the cost for people who needed urgent treatment like patients with gangrene, which is a potentially life-threatening condition,’ a source told the ZO.

Meanwhile, EMRS personnel who were involved in the unlawful strike action on 31 March and 1 April, will appear in court on 17 April.

Other staff, who continued the protest during the Easter weekend, will also be subpoenaed to the dock.

According to a list of grievances, EMRS employees are unhappy about the slow pace of the department’s implementation of the Occupational Specific Dispensation salary adjustments.

They further argue the use of attorneys for disciplinary matters at the Bargaining Council has reportedly resulted in unfair dismissals.

The strike action also related to the failure to pay danger allowances to emergency care officers and shift leaders in the control centre, as well as the reduction of salaries of about 57 employees.

The National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers and various levels of government, including the Bargaining Council, have been involved in the impasse to date. @RonelleRamsamy