A holistic view of attacks on ambulances emerged from the Safety Symposium hosted by CPUT yesterday. 

The scale of the problem was unpacked from ministerial level right through to community members who are feeling the brunt of reduced ambulance services in their areas.
Deputy Minister of Health Dr Mathume Phaahla says attacks on emergency medical staff are increasing because respect for human life is severely lacking in society and that is an indication of larger socio-economic challenges facing South Africa.

“We are living in a highly criminal infested society and that is why part of the discussion will explore the relationship between Community Policing Forums (CPF) and to ensure there are systems of cooperation to ensure that when a call for help arrives the emergency medical services feel safe enough to respond,” he says.

While not ideal, Phaahla explained the concept of red zones (no-go or access controlled zones for emergency medical care staff) has been one way of dealing with the scourge of ambulance attacks.

“The declaration of red zones are based on intelligence from the security cluster and police forums. There are a number of government interventions yet, despite this, the attacks still continue,” says Phaahla.

Some of the interventions implemented already include training neighbourhood watch members and CPF members to be first responders and provide critical care in the time until ambulance staff are able to get to the scene.

Lentegeur Neighbourhood Watch Chairwoman Glenda Arendse says her community was selected for first aid training as a trial run and that it is working well.
“Our community members know to cordon areas off and how to do basic first aid until the ambulance gets there and it is working,” she says.

Lloyd Christopher, Acting Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences and the symposium chairman says this is the first coordinated effort to try and tackle the problem.

“It is important that we get a diverse view of why these ambulance attacks affect the community and why they are happening. A common solution must be possible. A rescuer can’t be a rescuer and a victim, you have to be one or the other,” he says.

Written by Lauren Kansley
Tel: +27 21 953 8646
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Attacks on ambulances and emergency medical service personnel will come under the spotlight during the Emergency Medical Services Safety Symposium at CPUT’s Bellville Campus on Wednesday.

A growing number of attacks has been reported in several parts of the country over the past few years with devastating consequences not only for the crews but the affected communities as well.

“These attacks have become a national problem. What we have been noticing is that there have been individual efforts to try and address this, either from the public or the private sector. What has been missing are the voices of the other stakeholders. The impact is that services are withdrawn, and the communities suffer,” said Lloyd Christopher, Acting Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences and the symposium chairman.

“The symposium brings together representatives from across the country, including the provincial and national departments of health, private EMS, academia, civil society – a broad spectrum of people that are affected by these ambulance attacks. It’s important for us to follow a holistic approach and to get a diverse view of how these ambulance attacks affect the communities in order to understand why these attacks are happening.”

The event will be attended by Dr Mathume Phaahla, the Deputy Minister of Health.

It will centre around four themes: The status quo – experiences and current professional responses, Building EMS resilience in a violent societal context, Criminal Justice and legal framework to strengthen EMS systems and Strategic partnership towards sustainable solutions.

“We’d like to end the symposium with a position statement. A rescuer can’t be a victim and a rescuer. We are finding that the ambulance personnel are becoming the victims and that can’t be the case. We would like to have a national position statement from all the stakeholders that will set the agenda for future research to better understand the problem and then to work on common solutions.”

The event has been registered with CPUT Community Engagement and is led by the Department of Emergency Medical Sciences.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.