SOWETO residents are furious.
They have raised their frustrations over the lack of ambulances ekasi.
This after a video surfaced on social media recently of a resident complaining that they’ve been calling for an ambulance and were told that there was none available.
On the video, a man is heard saying: “We’ve been calling for an ambulance since 12 and couldn’t get one, but here it is at the clinic’s premises.
“For the past two hours, we’ve been calling for an ambulance without any help.”
He said when they got to Chiawelo Clinic, they found three parked ambulances and one of them had a driver sleeping inside.
When Daily Sun contacted the City of Joburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesman, Robert Mulaudzi, he said: “As the City of Joburg EMS, we’re no longer running the ambulance service.
“It’s being run by the Gauteng provincial government.”
Responding to our queries, the Gauteng Department of Health said all emergency calls are received through 112, or 10177 at their Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) on recorded lines.
“At no point will the Gauteng EMS tell callers there are no ambulances,” said the department in a statement.
“At Chiawelo, we have ambulances on day shift and rostered night shift, with a spare ambulance each for breakdowns and accidents.
“The reason for ambulances specific for night and day is a strategy to improve response time and cut down on delays.”
They said to their knowledge, all calls were responded to as per their ECC records and if residents have complaints regarding ambulance delays, they could call the ECC via 112 or 10177 and talk to supervisors on duty. Residents can also direct complaints to 0800 203 886.
