Lives at risk as Joburg ambulances stop operating

12 June 2021

Lives are at risk as the city of Johannesburg suspended its emergency ambulance service on Friday last week because of vehicle insurance and medical supply problems.

This means that about 40 fewer ambulances will be operating as the Gauteng Health Department has botched its takeover of all ambulance services in the province.

Before the provincial takeover Johannesburg could field more than 90 ambulances, which shows the decline in the local service.

The provincialisation of ambulances has now led to the disuse of ambulances in two of the three metro cities in Gauteng.

Only the DA-run City of Tshwane is still providing an ambulance service as Tshwane MMC for Community Safety Karen Meyer announced last week that its temporary ambulance operating licence has been extended until the end of the year.

Unlike Tshwane, the ANC-run city of Ekurhuleni has not applied for a license to run their own ambulances, which are lying idle as emergency response times plummet.

I am increasingly getting complaints from desperate people who have called an ambulance that does not arrive in good time.

How can it be that we have idle ambulances in two Gauteng cities as Covid-19 infections increase alarmingly?

The collapse of Johannesburg’s ambulance service comes as residents reel from power and water cuts due to years of poor maintenance.

The provincial government should halt its provincialisation of ambulances, and ensure that all available ambulances and personnel are used to save lives in medical emergencies.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 12 June 2021