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The Portfolio Committee of Health would like to convey their appreciation to the department of Health for acquiring 220 new ambulances as part of the festive season readiness.

The Committee is of the view that the new ambulances will enhance and strengthen the capacity of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s public health emergency system. The ambulances will play a major role in strengthening the emergency services and be beneficial to communities by improving services to patients.

The need for transferral services has become more critical during the covid-19 pandemic and acquisition of these new ambulances will enhance the ability of public health services to respond to medical emergencies, provide timely transfer of patients in severe and life- threatening conditions, especially for people living in hard-to-reach areas or those not able to afford transportation.

Ambulance services provide a valuable, life-saving service and plays a vital role in the entire emergency care system.

The Committee was concerned that EMS did not always meet the response time targets of 15 minutes for the surrounding areas of the EMS bases and 45-minutes for the outlying and hard to reach areas and now believe that the new fleet will ensure a faster and more responsive system, especially during the festive season.

Issued by Gauteng Provincial Legislature Media Services on Behalf of Chairperson Dr Rebecca Phaladi-Digamela