Pretoria - The Tshwane Emergency Services said it was pleased with its stellar response to a critical Covid-19 patient from Pretoria North, who had to be rushed to Tshwane District Hospital in a state-of the-art Special Infectious Unit ambulance.
According to the MMC of Community Safety and Emergency Services Karen Meyer, the patient was a Priority 2 suspected Covid-19 case, but because of state-of-the art technology he was in a stable condition when he was admitted at hospital.
“The ambulance is equipped with a negative pressure isolation chamber which permits patients to be scanned in the chamber without exposing staff to Covid-19.
This ambulance is the first of its kind in South Africa and fulfils the key requirements for responding to and dealing with hazardous material, viral haemorrhagic fever, extensively drug-resistant or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, and more recently Covid 19 patient treatment and transportation,” said Meyer.
She said the team of paramedics on the ambulance were trained and equipped to handle medical emergencies where suspected or known cases of infectious or contagious substances were involved.
“Fortunately to date no member has been infected with Covid-19, largely due to the maintenance of strict protocols and standard operating procedures and the advanced equipment and capabilities of the vehicle,” she said.
She said while the specialised ambulances were launched during the pandemic, the need for such vehicles were identified team long before the outbreak, having studied the trends of various medical outbreaks such as ebola and TB.
The fleet of five vehicles arrived in the city in August. “Thanks to the foresight of the City of Tshwane’s Emergency Services, these specialised vehicles have boosted our response to and fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
Meyer said the fact that the City operated these highly specialised vehicles was evidence that the department rendered a world-class emergency medical services response to the residents of the City of Tshwane.
“It is also a testament to the need for the City to continue providing such emergency medical services as a fully licensed ambulance operator,” she said.
Pretoria News