Tighter rules on ambulances

29 July 2014 - 02:06 By Sipho Masombuka
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The ambulance carrying former president Nelson Mandela arrives at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, yesterday after he spent nine days in hospital
The ambulance carrying former president Nelson Mandela arrives at his home in Houghton, Johannesburg, yesterday after he spent nine days in hospital
Image: WALDO SWIEGERS

Private ambulance operators will have to comply with a host of new requirements if new regulations become law.

At present, the private ambulance industry is unregulated, meaning there is no industry standard. Any person or organisation can operate an ambulance service.

But a series of strict licensing requirements, proposed in the gazetted emergency services regulations, will change all this if they are adopted.

According to the proposed regulations, ambulance operators will have to, among other things:

  • Be licensed;
  • Be supervised by an emergency medical services manager;
  • Operate from a specific location;
  • Have a communications system over which to receive service requests, and the ability to manage resources remotely;
  • Have sluice facilities for cleaning contaminated equipment and linen;
  • Have washing facilities, including medical-waste traps;
  • Have all the equipment listed in the regulations; and
  • Ensure that ambulances are clearly marked as being emergency vehicles.

Operators who do not comply could having their licence cancelled or suspended.

Any operator found guilty of contravening the regulations "faces a fine not exceeding R500 000 and or imprisonment not exceeding five years".

The proposed regulations, which have received a mixed reaction, are out for public comment within three months.

The CEO of the SA Private Ambulance and Emergency Services Association, Oliver Wright, said he was looking forward to the introduction of the new regulations.

He said the multimillion-rand industry had been unregulated for too long at the risk of patients' lives.

He said at the moment there was nothing to ensure that private ambulances were properly equipped or carried registered and adequately trained ambulance staff.

"There is a chance that a patient might die because [ he is] not receiving the treatment [ he] should ," Wright said.

Emergency medical practitioner Dr Jonathan Witt said the move was well-intentioned but warned that it could lead to "a bureaucratic mess".

"It is typical of the minister's seemingly complete misunderstanding of our emergency medical services, their resources and how they function ... there are several services doing good work who would cease to exist if this becomes law," he said.

Peter Fuhri, the Department of Health's director of emergency medical services, said the new regulations were prompted by complaints from the public.

Fuhri said the regulations would allow the government to get a "grip" on the sector.

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