Emergency services in Hanover need a boost

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) of the Hanover Fire Department operated for most of 2012 without a functioning ambulance, according to reports.

For the months of September, November, and December, the EMS's lone ambulance had mechanical problems. In April, the ambulance was in disrepair for 18 days, 24 days in July, 22 in August, and 27 in October. This means for approximately 60 per cent of the year, the parish had no ambulance coverage.

In addition, the ambulance was also out of action from January to April this year.

Head of the Hanover Fire Department EMS, District Officer Taleeni Francis, said they had to improvise by using the fire truck to respond to emergencies. As a result, the fire truck had to provide first-response services to a large number of the 70 motor vehicle accidents which were reported to the fire department in 2012.

Residents in the parish say a new ambulance should be provided to the Hanover EMS without delay as the situation is untenable as residents, especially the elderly in remote rural areas, are gravely affected whenever the ambulance is out of use.

"The Hanover Parish Council needs autonomy in terms of having jurisdiction over the fire service as they used to do some time ago," Ray Kerr, vice-president of the Mt Peace-Clifton Farmers' Group, told Western Focus.

"Hanoverians pay a great amount of property taxes in Jamaica, so the Government should ensure there is adequate coverage. We really need a new ambulance. In Clifton, where I live, there is no regular taxi service at night and the elderly people really need the ambulance at night," Kerr added.

DIRE SITUATION

Another resident, Donald Campbell, a farmer of Dias, said the lone fire truck should not be relied upon to perform dual roles, but that urgent steps should be taken to have a better-equipped EMS in the parish.

"If we have an old ambulance, then Central Government needs to replace it because if the fire truck has to go to, say, Point Estate to deal with an accident, and there is a fire in, say, Kingsvale, how do you deal with it?

"That is very poor public service. We need a reliable ambulance. In fact, we also need another fire truck in the parish. It has to do with health care, so there should be no delay. I hope they will deal with it no matter how scarce funds are," Campbell said.

Councillor of the Lucea Division of the Hanover Parish Council, Neville Clare, said he was unaware of the woes of the EMS, but that he would try to initiate fund-raising efforts to aid in obtaining a new ambulance for the parish, especially in light of the fact that the Hanover Chamber of Commerce was now defunct.

"To be honest, I didn't know of it. I will try to check to see what type of fund-raising drive can be put on to raise funds and to get some assistance. It would take a community effort - and with us as council - to make the drive or seek assistance from other individuals because a lot of persons from my division also rely on the ambulance. It is a pity we don't have an active chamber of commerce," Clare said.

- C.G.