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Patients from Motherwell, in dire need of medical assistance, have died, because Emergency Medical Service officials decided to relocate ambulances from the Motherwell Community Health Centre and base them at Dora Nginza hospital.

Today’s oversight to the Motherwell Community Health Centre, where I was accompanied by DA Ngqura Constituency Leader, Yusuf Cassim MPL, DA Federal Chairperson, Athol Trollip, and local NMB Councillors follows after reports from medical practitioners that several patients in the area have lost their lives in recent weeks, while waiting for ambulances to arrive.

These deaths, according to them, could all have been avoided, had the ambulances been closer at hand. In other words, these deaths were unnecessary.

Some clinics in Motherwell have waited an entire day for an ambulance to collect patients requiring hospitalisation.

In other cases, “babylances”’, which are ambulances designed and designated specifically for mothers in labour and new-borns, have had to be used to transport very ill patients as a desperate measure, which has then put the new-borns at risk of exposure to infectious diseases.

I have written to the new MEC of Health, Sindiswa Gomba, to establish why the reckless decision was taken to move all ambulances out of Motherwell.

Ambulances should be strategically placed across all big communities in the metro in order to service patients as quickly and effectively as possible.

In emergency trauma care, the first hour after an incident can make the difference between life and death. This is known as the “golden hour”. The poor response time and lack of ambulances in Nelson Mandela Bay means that the fates of patients in outlying areas such as Motherwell and KwaNobuhle are sealed, as ambulances will never reach them in time.

The DA believes that setting up satellite ambulance services across the Metro will assist greatly in improving ambulance response time.

The international norm is one ambulance per 10 000 residents. The Eastern Cape would therefore need 650 functional ambulances. Currently the province has approximately 200 functional ambulances – less than a third that we require to serve all communities.

This Eastern Cape Department of Health is sitting with contingent liability in excess of R24 billion – exactly the same amount as its annual budget for the current financial year.

Through delaying service delivery and extending ambulance response times, the department is exposing itself to further litigation – something it cannot afford.

Over the past 10 years in the DA- led Western Cape, 10 emergency centres have been upgraded or replaced, 11 new ambulance stations have been built and the rural patient pick-up service assists 150 000 rural patients per annum. Ambulance response times are the best in the country.

The Democratic Alliance is committed to delivering quick and effective medical attention to all residents.

Issued by The DA