KZN ambulance crisis: Expectant mothers must wait for up to 8 hours

One vehicle out of order since February due to fan belt glitch

- By Sihle Mavuso

The true picture of the ambulance crisis in KwaZulu-Natal has been laid bare, with an internal report showing that some patients, including expectant mothers and those with burn wounds who require urgent attention, wait up to eight hours for an ambulance.

The report, exclusively obtained by Sunday World, paints a picture of a challenge that has gone on for months without being resolved by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, which is led by the ANC's Nomagugu Simelane-Mngadi (formerly Simelane-Zulu).

The report was compiled from data obtained from the Pomeroy community health centre in the Umzinyathi district in the northern part of the province between April and September this year, and has already been sent to the provincial headquarters in Pietermaritzburg, where sources said nothing has been done.

According to the data, in July, a woman pregnant with twins experienced labour difficulties while at home, and her family called an ambulance from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fleet owned by the department. The ambulance arrived three and a half hours later.

It was noted by the source who leaked the report to the