ALI MPHAKI
PATIENTS in Soweto are being ferried in germ-infested ambulances.
Thousands of unsuspecting patients rely on the ambulances to transport them to hospital each month.
Doctors have warned that in terms of infection control, the use of these ambulances can be harmful to both patients and paramedics.
Gauteng Health Department spokesman Simon Zwane has confirmed that the township had one washing bay at the Jabulani fire station, which is currently undergoing renovations.
He said the onus was now on those using the vehicles to make sure the ambulances were sterile.
The situation is dire at Mofolo Clinic, where the ambulance crews wash their ambulances in a paved parking lot opposite the clinic’s maternity section. At times, pools of blood are found on the pavement and the grass near where they have cleaned the vehicle. This is in direct contravention of the Occupational Health and Safety standards.
The Mofolo Clinic was built in 1984, and according to Zwane, does not have a proper washing bay. He said they were still looking at identifying a site at the clinic that complied with occupational health and safety standards.
Ambulance crews at Mofolo Clinic said it was procedural to have the ambulances taken after every six weeks for disinfection, but this was not done.
“No wonder we are sick most of the time. Imagine the germs we come against daily as we ferry all types of patients, from stab wounds, gunshot wounds and people with hepatitis. I should have quit long ago, but jobs are hard to come by and I love what I am doing,” said one ambulance crew member.
Zwane said ambulance disinfection was the responsibility of the crews and that they were given cleaning equipment for this function.
He could not say whether, in terms of cleanliness, the ambulances were safe for both patients and the crews.
The ambulance crews at Mofolo Clinic complain that they are being forced to do their job under duress.
“We are ambulance crew and are not hired to clean ambulances. The cleaning of ambulances does not form part of our key performance areas. To make matters worse, our ambulances lack basic equipment like oxygen cylinders.
“We are forced to be innovative as we do not have the proper equipment. Is this fair to both us and the public?” one asked.
Other problems facing the Joburg Emergency Management Services is that many ambulances have broken radios, and staff are forced to use their own cellphones for communication.
Ambulance drivers are poorly monitored and morale is low.
The Mofolo crew operate from a huge container office which does not have heaters. They spend most of the time, especially at night, sitting in the ambulances running the engines so as to keep warm.
But Zwane denied this.
“We have procured heaters, and one was delivered yesterday,” he said.
The Star interviewed several patients at the Mofolo Clinic waiting to be transported by ambulance to the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Academic Hospital, and most of them were shocked to hear about the germ-infested ambulances.
Pensioner Maria Mamabolo, 62, of Mofolo, said it was a shame that, almost 20 years into a new dispensation, the ambulance situation in Soweto was worse than during apartheid times.
“It is clear that someone is not doing their work properly, and it is us the poor who suffer most. This is a crying shame,” she said.
According to Jack Bloom, the DA’s Gauteng spokesman on health, only 25 out of 64 ambulances in Gauteng were operational at any given time.