South Africa’s Eastern Cape plans to deliver 197 ambulances, but that is not enough
South Africa’s Eastern Cape province plans to deliver a total of 197 ambulances by the end of March next year under a fleet replacement programme. However, this will not resolve the emergency medical services crisis: according to the province’s Member of the Executive Council for Health, Ntandokazi Kapa, the region needs about 600 such vehicles to operate fully.
As Daily Maverick reports, the province has received another 26 ambulances as part of the programme to replace its ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet. About two weeks earlier, the region received 21 vehicles. Further deliveries are expected in October, as well as in February and March.
Only 192 vehicles operational
Earlier, Kapa said in response to a written question from provincial parliament member Jane Cowley that the Eastern Cape province has 353 ambulances. Of these, 161 are not in operation, while only 192 vehicles are operational.
The official noted that vehicles delivered under the programme replace existing ones rather than increasing the fleet to the required level. According to her, the situation is constantly changing: while the province buys one vehicle, another may break down. She described operations in rural areas as particularly difficult, where ambulances travel long distances on roads in poor condition.
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Equipment and access to care
Emergency medical services workers and the Hospersa trade union have reported a shortage of properly equipped vehicles. According to them, vehicles at bases may lack stretchers, oxygen cylinders and electrocardiographs. Union representative Thembisa Witbooi said that Nelson Mandela Bay, home to more than one million people, needs at least 150 ambulances.
The Department of Health confirmed that Nelson Mandela Bay did not receive vehicles from the first two batches, but it may be considered during the next allocation. At the same time, the department is working with the transport department to return faulty vehicles to service.
The South African Human Rights Commission has added the issue of access to emergency medical care in the Eastern Cape province to a systemic investigation. It covers the operation of emergency telephone lines, ambulance dispatching and their operational capacity.
