DA Mpumalanga welcomes the long-awaited 67 ambulances
The DA said they further wrote to the premier in June, asking them to prioritise the procurement of ambulances in Mpumalanga
Democratic Alliance member of the provincial legislature, Ms Jane Sithole says they welcomed the long-awaited 67 ambulances that the premier launched at Mbombela recently.
In a statement, she says that in April 2019, MEC Sasekani Manzini said that a total of 178 ambulances were operational to respond to any emergencies in the province.
“However, this meant that in 12 months, the department’s fleet of ambulances reduced dramatically from 178 to 33, a shocking 81% reduction. Upon enquiry, we never received answers regarding the whereabouts of the 145 ambulances,” Sithole said.
The DA reported in June this year that the Mpumalanga Department of Health has only 33 operational ambulances to service 3.97 million people in this province who do not have the luxury of medical insurance.
That is less than one ambulance per 120 303 people.
The DA said they further wrote to the premier in June, asking them to prioritise the procurement of ambulances in Mpumalanga.
There is no doubt that the additional 67 ambulances will significantly reduce response times to distressed calls, especially around rural municipalities such as Thembisile Hani and Dr JS Moroka, Nkomazi and Bushbuckridge.
The DA urges the premier to ensure that these ambulances do not gather dust in the hospital basement parking somewhere due to chronic staff shortages that are currently faced by the department.
