By: Ebraheem Fredericks

State-run ambulance services are often under strain due to the avalanche of calls that they receive and the distance they must cover to respond to callers outside of the city or in informal areas. A sustainable, effective solution to this however is the use of Voluntary Emergency Services set inside difficult to access communities.

This was proven in a study conducted by Researchers from the University of Cape Town that collected data showing a community-run ambulance service in Hout Bay, Cape Town that responded faster than the State-run Emergency Medical Service. (EMS)

The Hout Bay Volunteer Emergency Medical Service (HBVEMS) is saving lives by arriving on scene within 15 minutes for life-threatening calls and when operational its 42.3% faster than State response times allowing Hout Bay residents timely access to essential medical care.

Dr. Charmaine Cunningham the lead researcher spoke to the Voice of the Cape on the Drive Time Show about why the HBVEMS is so necessary and effective.

‘’Hout Bay is a small community with about 2 access roads,’’ she said.

‘’State-run responses are coming from the other side of the mountain whether from Cape Town Central or Retreat, it adds on minutes to overtake other vehicles to get into Hout Bay.’’

What the researchers found was that the HBVEMS is faster because it operates directly from the community.

The Voluntary Emergency Service was started in 1994 by Hout Bay residents who were concerned about the slow emergency response times to the area, that often resulted in death when ambulances didn’t arrive on time.

Dr. Cunningham explained that the way in which the researchers measure the data is by using the Computer Aided Dispatch Data Records kept by the Western Cape EMS.
‘’We specifically look at the Hout Bay geographical area,’’ she stated. ‘’One of our filters was looking at the Hout Bay EMS Ambulance and another filter was looking at the Hout Bay area.’’

‘’We use the two filters to establish response times and compare them to the geographic callouts that the Western Cape Government is responding to.’’

Dr. Cunningham stated that there needs to be a greater partnership between the established medical services and communities to ensure that patients will be benefitted in the long run.

‘’We already work very closely with the Western Cape EMS and that is something that they are exploring. We need to retain the relationship between the formal and informal community systems because there must be a cofunction for efficiency. ‘’

Dr. Cunningham believes that Voluntary Ambulance Services could have an important impact on the continent as it would aid all State-run emergency services and ensure that people everywhere have access to fast and effective emergency care should they have need of it.

VOC