FG Deploys 13 Ambulances To Strengthen Emergency Response In Ogun
The Federal Government has deployed 13 ambulances to Ogun State as part of efforts to improve emergency response and reduce preventable deaths.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Friday during the flag-off and distribution of emergency ambulances under the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS) at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
The deployment comprises three Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances, one Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance and nine tricycle ambulances for selected tertiary, secondary and primary healthcare facilities across the state.
Salako said the intervention was part of the Federal Government’s wider plan to build a coordinated emergency medical system linking dispatch services, trained first responders, pre-hospital care, transportation and hospitals.
He said the first phase of the national programme includes 145 tricycle ambulances, six boats, 15 BLS ambulances and 79 ALS ambulances.
The minister said NEMSAS and the Maternal Mortality Reduction Innovation Initiative had provided free emergency obstetric care to more than 48,000 women, including over 4,000 who benefited from free caesarean sections.
He urged the Ogun State Government and beneficiary facilities to properly deploy, maintain and monitor the ambulances, warning against their use for non-emergency purposes.
“These ambulances are not hearses for moving corpses or vehicles for going to the market to purchase goods, including drugs and other hospital consumables,” he cautioned.
Salako also disclosed that his office had received complaints and media reports alleging unprofessional conduct, dereliction of duty and illegal collection of levies by some officials at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta.
He promised that the allegations would be thoroughly investigated and that anyone found culpable would face sanctions in line with the Public Service Rules.
The minister said the Federal Government would also work with the National Assembly and other stakeholders to address gaps in Nigeria’s emergency-response regulatory framework.
He stressed that the success of the ambulance deployment would ultimately be judged by how quickly and effectively patients are stabilised, transported and connected to definitive medical care when emergencies occur.
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