Parked ambulances don’t imply they out of service: Gauteng Health

The Gauteng Department of Health (GDOH) says ambulances parked at Emergency Medical Services (EMS) bases should not automatically be viewed as idle or out of service.

The department says the vehicles serve different purposes, including emergency response, intensive care transfers and scheduled patient transport.

This comes amid questions about ambulance availability and the province’s emergency medical services capacity.

Gauteng Health Spokesperson Steve Mabona says the department is also working to strengthen staffing through the recruitment of 541 EMS posts, for which applications closed in September.

“The filling of these posts will support operational capacity and contribute to the effective delivery of emergency medical services.

The GDOH remains committed to the responsible management of its ambulance fleet and the continuous strengthening of EMS to ensure that available resources are deployed according to service delivery needs.”