Just over nine months after LowMed Health and Sport Performance Centre launched its new ambulance service in Hazyview, an accident near Marite has caused it to fold.
Mr Jacques Ainslie and his team had been providing expert medical service to the community up until the end of July. A farmer of the Kiepersol area crashed into the back of their vehicle with his Ford Bantam bakkie. “The ambulance was on its way to the Marite Police Station to collect a document. While the driver waited on the R40 for oncoming vehicles to pass, the collision occurred,” said Ainslie.
He explained that the driver who hit the ambulance was travelling in the direction of Bushbuckridge, when the vehicle entered their lane right behind them.
“An attempt to avoid the collision was made, but to no avail. The ambulance and the Bantam were complete write-offs,” Ainslie said. He added that miraculously, none of the occupants were injured. “Just as we found our feet, all our hard work was reduced to an irreparable wreck,” he said.
Last week, when Ainslie made the announcement, he said they had insurance and it seemed like everything was sorted. But all the major banks they approached to finance a new ambulance, rejected their application due to the service being barely established. “We don’t have funds for a new ambulance and therefore the directorate of LowMed EMS decided to call it a day,” he said.
He explained that they will still continue to provide professional sport-event medical support and present first-aid courses to the whole Lowveld. “I am still trying to keep the ambulance service running, but our operation in Hazyview has suffered a terrible blow. Please bare with us as we are busy exploring new avenues,” he said.
“We have approached various parties to invest into the service, but up until now no one has come forward,” he said. Ainslie can be contacted on 060-997-5997.
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