An ANC ward councillor who called 112 emergency line told 013NEWS that he was told that there is allegedly only one ambulance the whole of Gert Sibande. Health MEC Sasekani Manzini’s office agrees that Mpumalanga is faced with a serious shortage and that she tries every year to buy them.
A gogo in her 70s in Msukaligwa who is seriously sick had to call an ANC ward councillor after she waited since Monday 12 December 2022 for an ambulance to arrive.
The councillor said he was made aware about the issue Wednesday morning 14 December 2022.
“Even now she is still waiting for the ambulance. I went there to see her. I think she has a stroke-related problem because she can’t walk and has problems speaking. I called the 112 and I was told that the people at the call centre no longer pick the phones because they are tired explaining the same thing to people that there are no ambulances.
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“They told me that there is only one ambulance the whole of Gert Sibande, can you imagine,” the Msukaligwa councillor said when they spoke to the 013NEWS reporter over the phone.
He asked for his name not to be revealed fearing reprisal as “it will appear like I’m attacking the ANC government”.
“Remember there are lot of people who want these positions and they can find a reason to remove you,” the community leader said.
“I can’t use my car to take her to the hospital, if she dies or the hospital refuses to attend to her it will be a big problem for me”.
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Health MEC Sasekani Manzini’s office admitted that they have ambulance shortages, not only in Gert Sibande but in the entire province and country.
Manzini’s spokeswoman Sharon Nkosi said she will verify claims that there is only one ambulance in Gert Sibande.
“We do have a shortage of ambulances and the MEC always procures ambulances every year,” said Nkosi.
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Health minister Joe Phaahla told Parliament that South Africa is experiencing a shortage of 3 401 ambulances.
Mpumalanga DA legislature member Jane Sithole said Mpumalanga is actually short of 306 ambulances.
Currently the province has 168 ambulances and of these, only 72 are operational.
The Mpumalanga health department reported that between January and March 2022 there were 26 313 requests for an ambulance.
“The DA calls on the provincial department of health to reach the recommendations of the Emergency Medical Norms and Standards of 1 ambulance per 10 000 people in the province,” said Sithole.
(edited by MLM)
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