Frustrated residents say the emergency response time is poor. SABC News reports that it has since emerged that only three ambulances are available for Kimberley's population of over 400 000.

Despite the department announcing a major overhaul of its services last year, the prolonged challenges facing the department remain.

In March last year, the department’s MEC, Maruping Lekwene, said they had invested in 92 new vehicles worth over R50 million since 2019. But residents say they are yet to benefit from the overhaul.

'You can wait two or three hours'

"When you call, you can wait two or three hours for the ambulance. We will appreciate it if the ambulance comes immediately when we call," says Mabedi Seleka, a resident.

Residents say ambulance problems are not new, but the service is getting worse and more unreliable.

"We cannot assist our patients when they are sick; we have to hire vehicles so that we can take them to hospital and then, the hospital is full. We don’t even get our medication," says Elizabeth Ditlhatle, another resident.

"People are dying because of the waiting time, it is so long. You understand people are dying, some are stabbed, grannies are sick and they cannot take it. They are dying because the ambulance is taking so long and if you phone the ambulance, they ask you so many questions," adds Nkosinathi Mgijima, a resident.

54 emergency vehicles

"We’ve been hard at work just to increase our capacity in terms of human resources, and over the festive season we’ve been conducting a number of interviews for additional manpower in terms of emergency personnel. It’s an area that has also been receiving adequate attention," says the spokesperson for the Northern Cape Department of Health, Lebogang Majaha,

Majaha says they have procured 54 emergency vehicles, which are currently being converted into ambulances.

"We are awaiting the conclusion of that process."

OFM News