THE AMBULANCE response time in Motherwell in Nelson Mandela Bay has become deadly.
This is according to DA shadow MEC for health Jane Cowley, MP Yusuf Cassim and federal chairman Athol Trollip.
The three conducted an oversight inspection at Motherwell Health Care Centre on Friday. They said the problem started when the emergency health workers were moved to Dora Nginza Hospital.
The health centre’s facility manager Pumla Njalo said: “Ever since ambulances moved to a new facility, emergency services take long to respond to urgent calls to collect patients requiring hospitalisation.”
Ambulance driver Melikhaya Ketse said time was important in their job.
“We used to have a problem responding to some parties when we were based in Motherwell. It’s now worse,” he said.
“Roads around Dora Nginza are always congested, leading to poor emergency response times. Patients are forced to use their own transport to hospitals as the ambulances now take longer to get there,” he said.
Cowley said there should be ambulances at all busy communities to service patients quickly to avoid unnecessary deaths.
“In emergency trauma care, the first hour after an incident can make a difference between life and death. The poor response time and lack of ambulances in Nelson Mandela Bay means the fates of patients in outlying areas such as Motherwell and KwaNobuhle are sealed, as ambulances will never reach them on time,” she said.
“Setting up satellite ambulance services across the metro will assist greatly in improving ambulance response time.
The metro’s emergency medical services’ district manager, Brenhan Metune, did not respond to Daily Sun’s calls and messages.
