39 new ambulances added to Mpumalanga’s ailing fleet

Mpumalanga government has purchased 39 new ambulances with a price tag of over R45million. The ambulances were unveiled by Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane alongside Health MEC Sasekani Manzini at the Mbombela Stadium.

Last month the MEC admitted during her budget vote admitted to there being a shortage in emergency medical service vehicles (EMS). She also revealed that the department does get a number of complaints regarding the long response time for ambulances.

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PREMIER HOPES FOR CITIZENS TO BE BETTER SERVED

The premier hopes that the new addition of the vehicles will increase response times to emergency calls.

“Emergency services are the first healthcare service to be received by patients at the scene of an accident or a homestead, and the increase in numbers and improvement of the services is paramount in improving response times to emergency calls and contribute in saving lives”, says Mtsweni-Tsipane.

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THE RATIO BETWEEN CITIZENS AND AMBULANCES DECREASES

In June, the DA had threatened to write to the Health Ombudsman and have the provincial health department investigated. The party accused the department of not adhereing to national guidelines concerning EMS services in the province.

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The DA says according to guidelines, there should be at least one ambulance for every 10 000 people and that there must be at least 95.9 registered emergency care personnel per 100 000 population. However Mpumalanga currently has an estimated 13.5 EMS personnel per 100 000 and only 1 ambulance serving 91 666 people before the arrival of the new fleet.

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