The national lockdown may be unsettling to the majority of the nation, but it has certainly been a blessing in disguise in terms of the drastic decline in road accidents.

Road accidents in the Honeydew and Roodepoort areas are almost a daily occurrence, but since the start of the lockdown, Vital Med, a private ambulance service in the area, has attended to very fewer accidents.

Eric Nicholls, the director of Vital Med, shared his observation on the lockdown as proactive responder at emergency scenes. “The number of motor-vehicle accidents has decreased significantly. We have attended to a few minor accidents and treated patients for minor injuries since the lockdown,” he said.

Since the lockdown regulations curtail movement, Nicholls is still quite concerned by the number of vehicles on the road. “We still see a significant number of vehicles on the road though,” he said.

Besides attending to accidents, Nicholls added that his fleet now gets dispatched to residential emergencies and does inter-facility transfers.

In line with health regulations as the Covid-19 virus continues to rear its ugly head, the Vital Med director said strict measures have been put in place. “We have upped our personal protective equipment (PPE) ten-fold. My staff is wearing full PPE to every patient that is treated and full disinfectant protocol is strictly undertaken.”

“Every time a patient had been transported, we use high-pressured sprayers to clean the ambulance, and the disposable bed sheets and pillow cases are also replaced,” Nicholls explained.

Lastly, he encouraged people to stay at home and adhere to the social-distancing rule.