A chronic shortage of state ambulances in Pietermaritzburg means critically ill patients are being left stranded and paramedics are fearing for their lives, with the late arrival of emergency teams – when sometimes their patients are already dead – resulting in anger and even physical attacks from families.
Only a fraction of the city’s EMS fleet is operating, reports The Witness. The province itself is short of nearly 1 200 ambulances.
The areas serviced by PMB paramedics range from the N3 to Cato Ridge, the entire Eston area up to uMbumbulu, Lion Park to Nagle Dam, Cedara, the R33 to Albert Falls, Northdale, Bombay Heights, Orient Heights, Woodlands, Eastwood, Glenwood, Hayfields, Cleland, Mkondeni, Ashburton, the central business district, Prestbury, Blackridge and Hilton.
Since December last year, the department has been operating at only 40% to 60% of its fleet capacity due to mechanical failures, the paramedics said.
Between 9 and 15 January, said one, the zone had only three ambulances on duty. The situation then worsened, with only two state ambulances available for the entire region.
“It is pathetic to run on one or two ambulances while 10 are in the workshop,” they pointed out, while another questioned how they could serve a city when they lacked even the most basic resources, noting that equipment inside ambulances often broke or ran out.
They had occasionally even arrived at scenes late because of the lack of resources, only to find that funeral services were already there to remove the body.
The delays have led to angry confrontations, with paramedics being sworn at, threatened, and in some cases, physically attacked. In one particularly violent incident, when an ambulance crew arrived late the team was attacked.
“They were assaulted; the ambulance tyres were slashed and the windows smashed. They had to abandon the vehicle and run,” a paramedic said.
Maintenance failures have also left emergency teams stranded in dangerous areas.
The situation has crushed the morale among staff, who say they no longer take pride in wearing their uniforms.
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said they were very aware of the problems.
“The department acknowledges its critical responsibility to respond promptly to emergencies, prioritising those in life-threatening situations. We are aware of challenges around resource availability pertaining to ambulances and are working to address these.”
The state does not outsource private ambulances, even when state vehicles are unavailable, Maphisa added when asked.
During last week’s Health Portfolio Committee meeting, the department reported that the province has only 212 operational ambulances, with a shortfall of 1 189.
“We are exploring other partnerships to increase the number of ambulances. We have discovered that, with our current budget, it would take 20 years to reach full EMS capacity. However, we are being very cautious about the kind of system we adopt … with the private sector.”
The Witness article – Paramedics expose state ambulance crisis in Pietermaritzburg (Open access)
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