Top-level talks to tackle attacks on ambulances

THE Eastern Cape Department of Health will meet with the police’s provincial top brass next month to discuss the ongoing attacks on ambulances.

Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the meeting, planned for December 11, had been requested after an ambulance crew was robbed at gunpoint in Missionvale on Wednesday night.

Kupelo said attacks on ambulances had been rife in the province since 2014.

“If these incidents continue, the department will have no choice but to declare red zones in the affected areas and not enter without police back-up or guards,” he said.

“This would mean direct negative impact on service delivery. We will not be able to meet our response time targets.”

Kupelo said similar incidents of attacks on ambulances had been reported in East London and Mount Frere this month.

Emergency Medical Services district manager Brenhan Metune said the robbers escaped with the crew’s personal possessions on Wednesday night.

He said the crew members had not been injured.

During a protest over electricity outages in Cleary Park last week, an ambulance transporting a patient was stoned.

“Neither the patient nor the crew were hurt but the vehicle had to be decommissioned,” Metune said.