The Tribune

By CHESTER ROBARDS Tribune Senior Reporter crobards@tribunemedia.net BY the end of the government's 2012/2013 budget cycle, the Public Hospitals Authority expects to have 13 brand-new ambulances, three of which were purchased last year. Herbert Brown, the PHA's managing director, said another five ambulances will be bought almost immediately as the money for them has already been approved, while the other five will be purchased during the next budget cycle. He said the PHA is hoping to begin replacing its ambulances every three years in a bid to ensure there are enough properly maintained vehicles to respond to emergency calls. He revealed in a statement released on Monday that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responded to almost 18,000 emergency calls last year, and as of last month, they had already logged 1,400 emergency calls for 2012. He said the high volume of calls, the vast majority of which stemmed from violent incidents, inevitably led to extreme wear and tear on the PHA's ambulances. "This in any country would place incredible strain on these vehicles," he said. Last Thursday, it took two ambulances to get a man to the emergency room after the first responding vehicle broke down on the way to hospital. And many other ambulances in the PHA's fleet have serious maintenance issues, according to EMS personnel. Mr Brown said the five new ambulances soon to be acquired by the PHA will cost $72,000 per vehicle. He said when the vehicles arrive, they will each have cost the PHA a total of $124,000. While the PHA is upgrading its ambulance services for normal reasons, Mr Brown said it has also had to conduct investigations into possible vehicle sabotage and unauthorised use of ambulances. "We've had reports of vehicle abuse and persons collecting their children in these vehicles, this is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated, and we invite the public to team up with the PHA on that," he said.