A Groutville family’s worst nightmare came true when the state ambulance failed to arrive as they waited desperately for more than three hours during a medical emergency last week.

The man, former MPL Mbali Ntuli’s uncle, had a stroke at his home in the Malende area of Groutville on Thursday afternoon, causing paralysis on one side of his body.

His wife called for a state ambulance and was told it would come, but three hours later there was still no sign of the paramedics.

The family called Ntuli in a panic, who immediately called for a private ambulance. IPSS Medical Rescue arrived within 20 minutes.

“He was unresponsive when they got there but they managed to help him and this morning [last Friday] he apparently could call out his wife’s name,” wrote Ntuli in a post on X on Friday morning.

“I’m glad he seems to be ok but I had made peace that he was probably going to die. It seemed like a long time to wait for help.”

After Ntuli shared her experience on X, formerly Twitter, she received an outpouring of support and comments from people countrywide who have had similar experiences.

“Not everyone would be in a position to pay for a private ambulance but our state has necessitated the need to insulate ourselves from its failure through money,” she wrote.

“With 20 million people without jobs this means they are just at the mercy of the universe. Hoping that they stay healthy and safe out of just sheer luck.”

Ntuli said her uncle has since appeared to recover well in hospital in KwaDukuza, but that the situation could have been deadly.

She said the family had not yet formally complained to the provincial Department of Health.

The department had not responded to a request for comment at the time of print, but KwaZulu-Natal premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli, acknowledged the impact of budget strains earlier this month.

He said the department was projected to have overspent its annual budget by R4.7-billion at the end of September, such were the level of historic cuts.

“These budget constraints are making it really difficult for the departments [including Education] to fulfil their duties to the full potential and definitely impedes on service delivery,” he said on November 14.

“The challenge even makes it difficult for these departments to be in a position to hire doctors, nurses, teachers and social workers even though there may be some unfilled vacancies in some of these sectors,” said the Premier.

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