Pretoria -The North West Department of Health and Social Development will be putting 40 new ambulances on the road in the coming weeks in a further effort to improve emergency services throughout the province.
"The emergency vehicles are of quality and will assist to improve our response time. This is a way of improving ordinary people's lives and enhancing service delivery," MEC Rebecca Kasienyane said on Wednesday.
At a cost of R17 million, the Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz ambulances will be distributed equitably and preference will be given to rural communities.
The move was necessitated by the fact that most people in the rural areas do not have adequate transportation to and from the hospitals in cases of emergency.
"The shortage of emergency vehicles could hinder the transportation of patients such as pregnant women to hospitals and clinics, the seriously sick and those who sustained injuries in road accidents," Kasienyane said.
The MEC also warned drivers not to be tempted to abuse these vehicles or using them for personal matters.
"People must understand that, as a result of these unfortunate incidents sometimes vehicles stay is garages waiting for repair and thus reducing our response time to emergency calls."
