GEORGE NEWS - George has only three provincial (Metro EMS) ambulances to service the city, and it won't change any time soon.

This is in fact a national problem, as there are currently far too few ambulances and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel to serve the country.

According to EMS Garden Route district manager Llewellyn Nankoo, the issue is not related to the number of ambulances, but is a staffing challenge. As one ambulance needs 10 people 24/7/365.

"For every ambulance (24 hours) we need 10 people to accommodate factors such as annual leave and training, inter alia. National norms provide one ambulance for 10 000 people and if one considers the population of George it would imply almost 16 ambulances, which is virtually impossible considering the current economic climate," says Nankoo.

The entry level salary of a emergency care officer is approximately R156 000 per year, so increasing the number of ambulances to an area such as George requires an increase in staff - which is simply not possible with the current budget.

This is a perennial problem considering the growing population and burden of disease and is not restricted to emergency medical services alone. It is thus unlikely that the shortage of EMS staff will be addressed in the short to medium term.

Innovation, creativity and collaboration save the day if more has to be done with inadequate resources. An example of this is the Western Cape's EMS Emergency First Aid Responders (Efar) programme, where local communities are empowered to assist fellow people with first aid until help can arrive.

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