DYING FOR A WORKING AMBULANCE

Shortage of vehicles, staff and equipment hampers service delivery, say paramedics

We have to take patients to Nonqubela TB Hospital, but when we come back, we have to leave the ambulance for two hours to get rid of the virus because we don’t have disinfectants. This is a waste of time

Eastern Cape paramedics have accused the health department of being responsible for the preventable deaths of critically ill patients by failing to provide adequate resources to save them.

In Peddie, emergency medical services (EMS) staff said only one of three ambulances was working. It is meant to service more than 100 rural villages and towns.

“The community are frustrated when we can’t attend to their calls. The vehicle we have doesn’t have enough equipment,” a paramedic, who opted to remain anonymous, said.

He said they had no stethoscopes or equipment to treat diabetes and hypertension.

“We use the vehicle to transfer patients to East London and Makhanda, so people in Peddie have to wait until it returns.”

Fourteen staff members in Peddie were recently dismissed from the Peddie base as part of almost 200 let go by the department after an unprotected strike. They are still at work, pending the finalisation of the dispute.

In Qonce, only three ambulances out of six are said to be functional.

“The vehicles are inspected by the department of transport annually to check if they are fully equipped, but the equipment is taken away after the inspection,” a paramedic said.

He said they were also short-staffed. Cathcart paramedics said only one of their three vehicles was still running.

He said: “The furthest area we attend to is almost four hours away, and it is challenging with one vehicle.”

On Thursday, Dikeni (Alice) paramedics could not help patients as there were no available ambulances. Private vehicles were used to transport patients.

Themba Bangani, a paramedic and National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) Raymond Mhlaba Municipality regional coordinator, said: “We have been dismissed for refusing to use ambulances that do not comply with the Health Professional Council of SA standards. Each base is supposed to have 10 fully equipped ambulances.

“But here we only have two ambulances to service 52 villages.

“Since Wednesday there has been one ambulance in the whole of Raymond Mhlaba,” Bangani claimed.

“A young man was brought to us. Both his hands had been broken but we could not take him to hospital,” he said.

Bangani said many people who should have been saved had died.

“We have referrals from Victoria Hospital to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London, this sometimes takes the whole day. The other ambulance attends to all the calls. But villages are far apart.

“We have to take patients to Nonqubela TB Hospital, but when we come back, we have to leave the ambulance for two hours to get rid of the virus because we don’t have disinfectants. This is a waste of time.

“We run out of oxygen, blankets and maternity kits,” he said.

“Patients see faulty ambulances and think we don’t want to help them.”

Kholekile Mbete had to assist paramedics with his private car to get help because there was no ambulance available.

“I had to come and ask the paramedics to help me with an 80-year-old relative who cannot walk. He needed a stretcher and the paramedics helped me.

“Fortunately, I have a vehicle to transport my relative. But other people really struggle.”

Msingati Langa, 54, has been a paramedic since 2007 and his life has been in danger twice.

“In March 2021, I attended a call in Binfield village with my female colleague. We were working night shift. On our arrival, we were told that the family had been calling for an ambulance since 9am.

“A young man chased me with a bush knife

... He blamed us for his sister’s death. But we only received a call when we started our shift,” he said.

He claimed the department never provided them with counselling.

“Our ambulances are not different from taxis because we have no equipment.”

Loliwe Macoli, 40, a mother of four, has been a paramedic since 2015.

“I am traumatised. Every time we attend a call I am overwhelmed with fear because communities take their frustrations out on us.

“We have no radios. We receive calls on our cellphones in areas with poor networks.”

According to Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Yonela Dekeda, the department has 447 ambulances, 137 EMS response vehicles, 33 rescue vehicles, 188 planned patient transport vehicles, 18 vehicles for EMS administration and three helicopters.

Dekeda said the department had spent R57.8m on various capital items, with R45m focused on medical technology, machinery and equipment.

“We have encouraged EMS professionals to report any concerns, as there is a system in place to ensure roadworthy vehicles are available at all times, as well as the necessary equipment.”

Dekeda said that 72-75% of ambulances were operational because high mileage and rough rural roads led to occasional breakdowns.

“There are enough operational vehicles in the pool.

“The department is working tirelessly to ensure that the service is available to the communities at all times,” she said.