The Sunday News
IT takes just one phone call to give a person’s life a waiting chance. That call is crucial in the golden hour, which is the most important and crucial time after an accident within which a patient needs to be given treatment so that there are minimal chances of further complications. And that way, lives can be saved,” says an expert in an online article.
Now with better connectivity and the landscape of roads changing for the better in both rural and urban areas, the health care situation in rural areas is improving in leaps and bounds, thanks to the provision of ambulances to districts around the country by Government. The availability of ambulances is not only crucial in times of road accidents, but it is an everyday necessity, as people are in constant need of medical attention for a number of reasons.
In recent weeks, Nkayi, Beitbridge, Filabusi, Plumtree and Umzingwane districts in both Matabeleland South and North provinces received ambulances from Government. Nkayi acting district medical officer, Dr Herold Dube said the ambulance will go a long way in solving transport problems that are faced in the district.
“The ambulance that was received by the province last week has now been handed over to the district. The ambulance is going to be helpful to the whole district as it will serve at least 100 000 people including neighbouring communities,” he said.
Nkayi South Member of Parliament, Stars Mathe added that the ambulance will go a long way in alleviating transport challenges faced by the hospital and the district.
“In recent days, one of the ambulances had an accident so with the timely allocation of this one, we hope that transport challenges would be eased,” she said.
The role of ambulances cannot be over emphasised. An ambulance is vital for hospitals in order to transport patients quickly so that they will get proper attention from medical personnel.
An ambulance must be on time because the second delay of the ambulance will change someone’s life. Coming along with paramedics, an ambulance can be used for saving hundreds, or even thousands of lives by answering emergence calls from the community.
“Nowadays, an ambulance comes with a variety of sizes and shapes and this medical vehicle is also equipped with the wide range of vital emergency tools and machines including splints, intravenous, drugs, oxygen and others. Besides that, all of the common ambulances are also installed with a radio for communication. It is also used for the non-emergency purpose for example transferring patients from the hospital to another hospital,” said a medical expert in an online article.
According to country’s economic blueprint, National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), good health is central to human happiness and well-being. It also makes an important contribution to economic progress, as healthy populations live longer, are more productive, and accumulate more savings.
“Health is a fundamental human right in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, hence the overall outcome of the Health sector during the NDS1 Period is to improve quality of life, and improve life expectancy at birth from the current 61 years to 65 years.”
The provision of ambulances to rural areas is one way of ensuring that people in all corners of the country have access to medical care.
