THE DEMOCRATIC Alliance (DA) has reported the Northern Cape Department of Health to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over the province’s struggling emergency medical services (EMS). The DA alleges that more than half of the province’s ambulance fleet is nonfunctional, with devastating consequences for patients in urgent need of medical attention.

The crisis was highlighted by a tragic incident in Rooiwal two weeks ago, where a young mother in labour, unable to access an ambulance, lost her baby. She reportedly requested an ambulance at 2.30pm on a Sunday, but it only arrived at 4am the next day - hours after forensic services had already collected the baby’s body.

“This is not an isolated incident,” said Isak Fritz, the DA’s provincial spokesperson on Health. “Just last week, a diabetic patient died while being transported from Kuruman to Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH) in Kimberley after waiting two days for an ambulance. In another case, a patient from Ritchie collapsed and had to wait over eight hours before being transported to RMSH.”

Despite repeated commitments by the provincial government to improve EMS services, the system appears to be deteriorating. According to the DA, ambulance services have been in crisis since 2019. The latest figures indicate that the province’s EMS is operating at just 46% of its total fleet capacity.

Fritz criticised the provincial government’s approach, stating that merely replacing old ambulances is not an adequate solution. He emphasised that a proper vehicle replacement strategy must also include efforts to expand and strengthen the fleet. Additionally, he raised concerns over the prolonged turnaround time for ambulance repairs, which has further contributed to the crisis.

Instead of prioritising solutions, the DA claims the Health Department has lowered its service standards. The department reportedly downgraded its target for operational ambulances from 184 to 130 and reduced its goal for EMS personnel from 1,800 to 720. However, only 653 EMS workers are currently employed - far below the 700-strong workforce that was in place in 2019.

“This is simply unacceptable,” said Fritz. “Communities are left stranded with single-crew ambulances, 12-hour ambulance operations in places like Hantam, and patients in rural areas being deprived of critical medical transport.”

The DA has urged the SAHRC to add these cases to the existing health-related complaints against the provincial government, stressing that reliable emergency medical services are a fundamental right.

Department of Health Responds

In response to these allegations, the Northern Cape Department of Health has acknowledged concerns regarding EMS but insists that efforts are under way to improve service delivery.

Media liaison officer Mandisa Mereeotlhe stated, “The department is quite conversant with the state of ambulances in the province and is currently working tirelessly to ensure minimum interruption of emergency medical services across the province. Our teams are on the ground working closely with the merchants to ensure a meaningful turnaround time on repairs. Furthermore, the department is working closely with private ambulances to augment ambulance response time and availability, especially for high-priority cases.”

Mereeotlhe added, “Contrary to reports, the department has actually increased performance targets for Priority One cases from 50% to 60%, aligned with our Annual Performance Plan indicators. We have developed a comprehensive strategy that includes recruiting approximately 100 additional emergency care personnel and deploying 22 new ambulances in the upcoming financial year. Additionally, we are implementing air ambulance services to complement road ambulances for critical cases.”

A dedicated budget has been allocated for emergency medical services, which the department says will be strategically utilised to address service delivery requirements across the province.

“The department remains firmly committed to ensuring all Northern Cape residents have access to reliable and efficient ambulance services as part of our broader health care mandate,” Mereeotlhe concluded.

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Northern Cape’s ambulance crisis sparks human rights complaint

Patient dies after waiting two days for an ambulance