KAMPALA – In 2018 Ministry of Health finalized the emergency services policy to guide the operation of emergency service providers such as ambulances.
In the policy, ambulance services have been categorized- type A for transporting patients, type B for universal coverage which will have medicine and medical personnel to provide emergency care and type C where minor surgery can take place on a patient within a moving ambulance.
Ministry of Health is working day and night to increase the fleet on top of the 440 ambulances in the country where the majority are type A ambulances. This means they do not have the required capacity to offer emergency lifesaving care.
Earlier, the government also purchased 10 ambulances for Red Cross to be able to respond to all medical emergency needs along the major highways in Uganda
This month Government of Uganda received a batch of ambulances to facilitate the hard-to-reach areas in West Nile (rural areas) specifically to handle complications of pregnancy and childbirth and; during the neonatal period from United Nations Children’s Fund –UNICEF and financial assistance from the Government of Sweden. The second batch of 18 ambulances is also expected to arrive soon from Mombasa.
SPRO-MOH (Spokesperson) Emmanuel Ainebyoona has said that the third batch of 5 ambulances is type C (2 road intensive Care ambulances and 3 water boat ambulances) will arrive in the first week of December.
The ambulances are expected to be placed at regional Call and dispatch centres to enable quick and timely evacuations of patients in need of Emergency (EMS) services.
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