Gauteng’s Ambulance Fleet: Coping with COVID, Riots and Furniture
Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi acknowledged that many ambulance pickups were being delayed in the province, but placed the blame for this on the referral system.
Starting in 2019, the Gauteng government has taken over most municipal emergency services. However, due to the pressure placed by COVID, City of Tshwane and City of Ekurhuleni municipalities will receive temporary licences to continue operating ambulance services. “So, combined they will be able to respond to our communities on time,” said MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi.
The province’s ambulances and crews are under severe strain as they cope with a lack of resources, the COVID pandemic, and most recently, violent protests.
The Gauteng Emergency Services has been augmenting its fleet with new vehicles, including a pair of Mfezi armoured ambulances for use in dangerous situations, such as riots, where normal soft-skinned ambulances cannot venture.
For example, these armoured vehicles were deployed during New Year’s Eve at Hillbrow, during which time old furniture is often thrown onto the street as a way to ‘start afresh’ for the New Year. This tradition started in the 1990s. Though there may not be as many defenestrated refrigerators in recent years, numerous injuries from the tradition have required the police to clamp down.
The City of Tshwane, which continues to operate under its own ambulance licence, also acquired an armoured ambulance in 2019.
Jack Bloom of the DA said that the Gauteng Health Department has botched its takeover of all ambulance services in the province. Of the original 90 ambulances in Johannesburg before the transition were available, only 40 were now available, according to Bloom.
Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal, more than 30 private ambulance operators have taken their vehicles off the roads to protect them from the ongoing violence.
