Private ambulance companies have been commended for assisting the public service, but Minister of Health Donville Inniss says he wants no compromises in the system.
Inniss says that he has asked his ministry to coordinate a meeting with private abumblance operators to ensure that those vehicles are properly outfitted and carry correct personnel who have the requisite training.
He was speaking at the handing over of a new all-terrain Land Rover ambulance from the Max Adda Paramedic Rescue Trust at the British High Commissioner’s residence yesterday evening.
Inniss, in giving thanks to the Trust members, said the ministry’s duty was to protect the public and ensure that they were given the best pre-hospitalisation care.
“We cannot have one set of standards for the public sector and another for the private sector and I have asked that they work closely in this area,” he said.
The ambulance donated on the eve of what would have been Max Adda’s 26th birthday, will now add to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s fleet of nine ambulances. Two more are needed to make the full complement for proper rotation and appropriate preventative maintenance. (CT)
