- Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo and Sarah Baartman get four each. Amathole, Buffalo City, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi get three each.
- The third batch follows 21 ambulances on 21 August and 26 on 4 September. Capa promised another batch but gave no date.
The Eastern Cape health department handed over 24 new ambulances on Friday. The vehicles will go straight to work in local communities that need them.
Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa gave the ambulances to seven districts during an event at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha.
Alfred Nzo, OR Tambo and Sarah Baartman will each get four vehicles. Amathole, Buffalo City Metro, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi will get three each.
This is the third batch of ambulances to arrive. The department gave out 21 vehicles in August and 26 in September. The province has now received 71 ambulances since August.
The government plans to bring in 195 new ambulances by March 2027. They want to put vehicles closer to people so they can respond faster in emergencies.
Capa said the department is excited about the new fleet.
“It means we will continue to be able to provide the service that our people need,” Capa said. “They really want to see these ambulances on the road.”
She promised that more ambulances will come soon to give people better healthcare.
The Eastern Cape has a massive shortage of ambulances. Capa told the provincial legislature in August that only 192 of their 353 ambulances were working. Another 161 were broken and grounded.
She said the province actually needs about 600 ambulances to run properly. The new vehicles will only replace old ones. They will not add to the total number on the road.
The health department is working with the transport department to fix the broken ambulances.
The province is slightly behind schedule. It expected 81 new ambulances by the end of October but only has 71. Another 74 vehicles should arrive by February 2027 and the final 40 by March.
