One in every five ambulances will in future be dedicated for people in life threatening emergencies, the Gauteng health department said on Tuesday.
This decision was taken on Monday at a meeting between Gauteng health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa and councillors responsible for health in the province, said spokesperson Simon Zwane.
”The meeting agreed that one in every five ambulances should be dedicated to patients in life threatening situations or priority-one patients,” he said.
”This is a significant departure from the case where ambulances are dispatched on a first come first served basis, and it is hoped that response times to priority-one patients will improve as well.”
Zwane said this initiative was the second major service improvement the department had introduced.
”In the past financial year an emergency obstetrics ambulance was introduced to improve ambulance services to pregnant mothers.”
All the old ambulances in the province have also been replaced and 15 more primary response vehicles were expected by the end of August.
”The MEC is confident that the investments made in improving ambulance services will make the Gauteng Ambulance Services a preferred provider of emergency transport during the 2010 Soccer World Cup.” – Sapa