New ambulance for Kwakwani today – Health Minister

Feb 08, 2010 News

Major focus will be placed this year on the availability of ambulances at public health facilities countrywide. In fact, Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, revealed that efforts will even be made to procure more durable quality ambulances, particularly for regional operations.

His disclosure comes on the heels of complaints that the Kwakwani Hospital Complex has been without a proper functioning ambulance for some time now, a situation which was amplified last week Wednesday.

According to reports reaching this newspaper, on Wednesday, February 3 last, at around 17:30 hours, Vincent Gonsalves also known as Sonny, was riding along the Kwakwani Waterfront when he lost control of his motorcycle and came to a crashing halt. Sherwin Sealey was the pillion rider at the time of the accident.

Reports are that both men sustained injuries and were taken to the Kwakwani facility for medical attention. However, due to their injuries, the two were identified for transfer to the Linden Hospital Complex.

But it was not until some four hours later that the two men were transferred since the ambulance attached to the facility was not in working order. It was following the collaborative efforts of the men’s relatives and residents that a minibus was hired to transport them to the Linden Hospital. “We had to pad up the minibus with mattresses so that they didn’t get shake up too much and cause more damage to them,” one resident recounted.

The men were examined at the Linden facility and were subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

According to a release issued by the GPHC, it was around 01:30 hours Wednesday that, 28-year-old Vincent Gonsalves and 31- year-old Sherwin Sealey, both of Kwakwani Waterfront, were brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital. It was stated that the brakes of the motorcycle on which they were travelling had come loose, causing them to lose control and run off the road.

Gonsalves, according to the hospital report, sustained injuries to his head, neck and back and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Sealey, on the other hand, sustained injuries to his left hand and face and was admitted to the Male Medical Ward.

But of pressing concern to Kwakwani residents was the fact that the service of the ambulance has failed them on too many occasions. As such the residents revealed that they have appealed and will continue to call for a new ambulance to operate at the Kwakwani Hospital.

“There are times when the ambulance transporting people and just break down. This is the situation here for the longest while and nothing doing to help us….We don’t want a more serious situation to happen and no ambulance is around…” another resident lamented.

Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy in an invited comment said that as soon as today, a new ambulance will be made available to the Kwakwani facility.

According to the Minister, Regional Chairman of Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), Mr Mortimer Mingo, had only two days earlier informed him of the ambulance situation in Kwakwani. And it was within hours of their conversation, the Minister said that he was able to mobilise an ambulance for the facility.

“He said that he can send down a driver to Georgetown on Monday to collect the ambulance…I had no prior knowledge of this situation so I was ready and willing to help the situation in recognition of the fact that Kwakwani has a legitimate problem,” the Minister asserted.

However, it is the conviction of the Minister that some ambulances have not been able to keep up with some hospitals operations due to a combination of challenges including heavy workloads and improper maintenance.

A similar situation, he said has been observed in Essequibo which currently has two ambulances that are “always breaking down.” As such the Minister said that he is prepared to help the Regions as far as possible.

He related that in addition to what the Regions get in their budgets, his Ministry will also seek to procure some ambulances as well. Last year he revealed that the Ministry has furnished a number of Regions with ambulances including Regions Nine, Seven, Six and One.

But in order to effectively address the situation, he said that the Ministry of Health will not only focus on training ambulance drivers this year but also determine how much is spent on these essential vehicles.

“We can’t be spending a whole lot of money replacing ambulances all the time. So we have to examine closely where they are working and we may even have to get sturdier vehicles, especially in Region 10. Going from Kwakwani to Linden for example is not easy on the ambulance. So we really have to consider whether we will have to procure certain types of these vehicles for certain areas.”

And according to the Minister, the cost for a normal ambulance is approximately $5M, which can effectively serve areas in the city. However the question facing the Ministry the Minister opined, is how much can actually be spent, as a sturdy ambulance can amount to about $20M.

“There is always the debate about the spending. This is not politics and there is no right and wrong answers as there is strength in either side of such a debate. We have to decide whether it would be feasible to buy on sturdy ambulance or five that we will have to replace in a short period.”