Vans used as ambulance

He said some ambulances used to transport patients to hospitals are glorified mini buses illequipped to deal with emergencies. Stuart said government is to be blamed for this as they never set up an Ambulance Authority Board.

Stuart said many are using panel buses, changing the colour and passing it off as ambulances.

He said the most reliable ambulance service in the country is Global Medical Response (GMR). Stuart expressed disappointment with the Emergency Health Services (EHS) which he claimed are using improvised mini buses. “The first internal ambulance arrangement was with the North West Regional Health Authority but now all the RHAs have in house ambulances which are really vans that they painted the word ‘Ambulance’ and put in sirens.” Stuart said when the RHAs came into being, the fleet of ambulances under the Ministry of Health were entrusted to the RHAs.

“What happened and government is also to be blamed, they were supposed to set up an Ambulance Authority and an Ambulance Advisory Board.

These are two boards they have not set up to date and instead they have a retired doctor who oversee an operation which an entire department should be entrusted with,” he said