SVZ introduces ambulance service:“Just dial 124”

113 and 117 are no longer the only numbers that people can dial whenever they need an ambulance as the Sint Vincentius Ziekenhuis (SVZ) launched its own ambulance service on Friday. The ambulance service at the SVZ (ADS) can be reached by dialing 124. “The ambulance service was launched because there is a huge demand for it,” said the director at the SVZ, Manodj Hindorie. The director explained that the ambulance service previously only picked up patients who had to visit the SVZ for medical treatment. The hospital’s ADS will be available 24/7 for patients who must be transported nationwide to or from or between hospitals. People who call the ADS will have to pay SRD 250 for this service. They will get back a portion of this money from the health insurance company, depending on which insurance package they have. If a person can’t pay the entire sum at once, that person and the hospital will discuss making the payments in installments. Another objective of the ADS at SVZ is to relieve pressure on the ambulance service at the nation’s biggest hospital, the Academic Hospital Paramaribo (AZP). Hindorie pointed out that the government has kept its word by making the payments on time. The money is used to pay most of the hospital’s debts. But the truth remains that the hospital is still financially dependent on the government. The hospital hopes to earn enough money with its ambulance service to cover the remaining debts and to finance internal projects.