EMS shortage critical for 2010
By Chanel September
30 April 2007
Plans set by the local health department to double the number of Emergency Medical Service officials for the 2010 World Cup is dire.
According to reports hundreds of EMS officials will be needed to adequately, serve the city during 2010.
In terms of the health department’s service plan, 700 ambulance workers will be needed in the metro area alone. However currently there are only 400 ambulance workers of which 100 were employed by the city in the past year.
According to a weekend paper, possible reasons for the shortage are the minimum age requirement for a professional ambulance driver being 21 and the months of training needed to qualify as an EMS official.
Western Cape EMS Director Cleeve Robertson says, “We are just more than 50% staffed and the recruitment of EMS workers is not going very well”.
Because of the shortage there are only 35 ambulances on the road, when the city possesses a fleet of 45.
30 April 2007
Plans set by the local health department to double the number of Emergency Medical Service officials for the 2010 World Cup is dire.
According to reports hundreds of EMS officials will be needed to adequately, serve the city during 2010.
In terms of the health department’s service plan, 700 ambulance workers will be needed in the metro area alone. However currently there are only 400 ambulance workers of which 100 were employed by the city in the past year.
According to a weekend paper, possible reasons for the shortage are the minimum age requirement for a professional ambulance driver being 21 and the months of training needed to qualify as an EMS official.
Western Cape EMS Director Cleeve Robertson says, “We are just more than 50% staffed and the recruitment of EMS workers is not going very well”.
Because of the shortage there are only 35 ambulances on the road, when the city possesses a fleet of 45.
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