Regulation’

‘Fly-by-nights will resist

HERE could be resistance from some service providers if the private ambulance industry were regulated in KwaZulu-Natal, as it is in the Western Cape.

“The only people who will resist change are those who do not abide by the rules. The others, who adhere to the rules, will carry on with business as usual,” said Neil Gargan, chairman of the South African Private Ambulance and Emergency Services Association (Sapaesa).

He said the Western Cape legislature had approved legislation to regulate ambulances – both public and private – in 2010.

This meant both were now monitored by authorities, which included the Department of Health.

According to reports, before this legislation there were no regulations that determined what defined an ambulance, the minimum requirements for such a vehicle and what performance targets they should be measured by.

This reportedly meant patients were often left at the mercy of fly-by-night operators, who paraded as legitimate ambulance service providers and did not have the necessary qualified personnel, safe vehicles or equipment.

“The system in the Western Cape is working well. We have a situation where the public and private ambulance services are now being monitored there. Among the checks, they look at manpower, licences, waste disposal, labour relations and employment of staff,” said Gargan, who is also the chief executive of South African Paramedics Services, a private ambulance company.

He said they were in favour of similar legislation being imposed in the other provinces.

For now, private ambulance services follow the industry rules set out by the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF).

Asked if there were fly-bynight services around the country, he said: “Yes. It is not as widespread as people think. However, those few give others a bad name.”

The vice-chairman of Sapaesa, Clint Ruggunan, who is based in Durban, said ambulance services in the private sector were of a high calibre.

“If you take away the private sector service, you will have a collapse of the emergency medical services field,” he said.

“If I am in an accident, I want a paramedic to treat me. They are clued up with trauma, work well and are well trained. I have the utmost respect for them.”

Of the 65 active ambulance services reportedly operating in KZN, only one is operated by the provincial health department (Emergency Medical Service, EMS). The rest are private.

Five of these provide basic life support, 32 provide intermediate life support and 27 advanced life support.

The Health Professions Council of South Africa was unable to provide comment by the time of publication. GLEN Naidoo of VIP Protection Services says the medical division of KZN VIP Group was established in March 2014.

It now has 10 qualified and HPCSA-registered paramedics, eight trained in basic life support and two ambulance emergency assistants.

“It’s a continuous learning process to ensure all practitioners are up to date with changes in their professions.”

He says all the staff are assessed before being employed and monitored afterwards.

The organisation has two emergency assistant-equipped ambulances and two rapid response cars that are equipped in accordance with Board of Healthcare Funders HPCSA regulations.

Of paramedic callouts, he says the number varies but averages about six a day.

He identifies as a key challenge paramedics battling for up to 45 minutes to get a hospital to accept a patient, and sees the industry as saturated in Durban.

Of claims that paramedics work with tow-truck operators to get a spotter fee, he responds: “We have not had any such personal encounters, but there is reason to believe it happens.”

VIP Protection Services, he says, is community-driven, “always there to assist”.

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