If you need an ambulance, what are your options?
Private emergency ambulance services are critical as staff and vehicle shortages plague Gauteng Department of Health.
Private emergency service companies like ER24 and Netcare 911 are plugging the state ambulance shortage gap.
The Northcliff Melville Times visited the Helen Joseph Hospital’s emergency department unannounced to watch the comings and goings of ambulances and witnessed vehicles from both government and private companies ferry patients to and from the facility.
Last year, “Netcare 911 provided more than R4.6 million worth in free emergency medical services to indigent patients requiring emergency medical services,” said Shalen Ramduth, operations director for Netcare 911.
Gauteng Department of Health has a shortfall of almost 600 state ambulances below the required 1 795, a crisis compounded by chronic staff shortages of personnel to operate the vehicles.
A state paramedic who asked not to be named said, “Staff shortages are the real problem which raise our stress levels in an already difficult job. Shortages mean ambulances are left unmanned, making it difficult to reach everyone in time that needs emergency help.”
Spokesperson Kwara Kekana said, “The Gauteng Department of Health is currently embarked on a massive recruitment drive to augment the existing staff complement. However, the market is limited which poses a challenge.”
The recent budget for 2022/23 received R1.6b to improve emergency response times in urban and rural areas.
Over 80% of Priority 1 calls are responded to within 30 minutes, the national policy timeframe on EMS responses, according to MEC for health, Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi.
This is cold comfort for the 20% who face extended delays, which could be life threatening.
On average, Gauteng Emergency Services receive 4 000 calls in a 24-hour period, with a higher call volume mid-month and end of the month, going up to 6 000 calls. ER24 alone receives on average 50 000 calls a month, or 1 600 per day.
If a patient makes use of a private ambulance there may be costs involved, especially if you are not a member of a medical aid. “Patients who are members of medical schemes should also be aware that they may have to pay certain costs themselves if they make use of an emergency medical services provider that is not the designated service provider to their specific medical aid,” said Ramduth.
A leading emergency service provider said that costs for a transfer by ambulance from home to a hospital start at R3 000 ‘going upwards depending on the condition of the patient and take them to the nearest hospital’.
Contact numbers if you need an ambulance:
Nationwide Emergency Response 10111; Gauteng Emergency services 011 375 5911.
Private companies: ER24 084124; Netcare 911 082 9111; Emer-G-Med 086 100 7911.
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