By Anita Dangazele
The Eastern Cape health department has admitted that the emergency phone lines for its ambulance service have been down for the past week because it failed to pay a service provider.
Residents have not been able to reach any ambulances since last Tuesday when the lines were disconnected, putting countless lives at risk.
Health department spokesperson Mkhululi Ndamase confirmed on Monday that ambulance phone lines were down across the province.
“The department is negotiating with the service provider and has committed to settling the debt at the beginning of the next financial year at the beginning of April. We are hoping the lines will be back up soon,” said Ndamase.
Ndamase could not confirm the amount owed but said facilities were using cellphones until the matter had been resolved.
On Friday, the department sent a notice stating: “The ambulance call centre is currently experiencing technical challenges. As a result, communities might expect to reach the Emergency Medical Services centre with difficulties.”
Three alternative landline numbers were provided as well as a cellphone number that residents could use during an emergency to send the EMS a WhatsApp message.
Eastern Cape resident Zonwabele Tshayana said he had difficulty getting an ambulance at the weekend.
“I had an emergency between Ngcobo and Cofimvaba, around Ngqwarhu Hills and kuMabelentombi. We called 112 and asked them to patch us through to ambulance services, but they couldn’t get through to Ngcobo, Cofimvaba, Queenstown or Butterworth,” said Tshayana.
“The numbers didn’t go through. I called the toll-free customer care line but it didn’t go through, either.”
He ended up having to drive the patient to a hospital himself in the early hours of Sunday morning.
An emergency services worker who asked to remain anonymous said he feared that the phone-line problem could put the lives of medics at risk because angry residents in highly-charged situations do not want to hear excuses.
“People are not aware of these alternate numbers. They blame us for the mess because we arrive late or not at all,” the EMS worker said.
He mentioned an incident where an undertaker had travelled to the EMS headquarters with a body when he could not reach them on the phone.
Pictured above: Eastern Cape ambulances.
Image source: ECDOH
