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Komani EMS in crisis, putting lives at risk

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Dear MyPE

Just five ambulances. That is all Komani, Cradock and Middelburg have to rely on in a medical emergency. Five ambulances that have to cover 3,813km2, an area one and a half times the size of the city of Cape Town.

This has resulted in the average response time for towns such as Cradock and Middelburg being up to an hour for priority level one calls, for people whose lives are under threat, after the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) was centralised to Komani.

The DA recently revealed how a mother from Cradock lost her twins, as a result of her waiting over an hour for an ambulance to take her to hospital.

To make matters worse, these ambulances are also used to transport patients to the Frere Tertiary Hospital and Cecelia Makiwane Regional Hospital in Buffalo City, meaning they are not always available to respond to emergency calls.

This was revealed by the Eastern Cape MEC of Health, Sindiswa Gomba, in response to a Parliamentary question put to her by the DA.

In the DA-led Western Cape, EMS services are decentralised across the province for a quick and effective response to health emergencies. The emergency situation gets assessed over the phone and priority one patients will have access to an ambulance in 15 minutes or less, more than 80% of the time

MEC Gomba also revealed that the current staff vacancy rate for the Komani EMS is a staggering 63%, nearly two thirds less than what is needed.

The result, delayed response times, overworked, unrested and fatigued EMS workers and excessive overtime.

The MEC’s commitment to recruit additional staff and implement better fleet management is cold comfort for the residents of Komani, Cradock and Middelburg, who have had to wait hours for an ambulance to arrive, while their loved ones are sick or dying.

It is simply unacceptable that critical staff shortages have not been addressed.

I will be submitting a motion to the Eastern Cape Legislature, to request that the Department of Health’s EMS services be decentralised, and that these critical staff vacancies be addressed with the urgency the matter deserves.

We need a capable healthcare service that realises the importance of providing the necessary resources in saving lives.

Regards

Retief Odendaal, MPL
EC Midlands Constituency Leader

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