JFB: Emergency ambulance service only offered on some days in Hanover
Mayor says situation ‘very serious’ as resource shortage cripples operations
Published:Monday | January 16, 2023 | 12:08 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A shortage of staff is preventing the Jamaica Fire Brigade’s (JFB) Hanover Division in Lucea from operating a seven-day, 24-hour emergency medical service (EMS).
A report tabled in the Hanover Municipal Corporation’s (HMC) January monthly meeting revealed that despite the JFB’s Hanover Division receiving 10 new staff members recently, the emergency medical service, which calls for specialised training, is still in need of more personnel.
The JFB’s EMS provides pre-hospital care from six fire stations. These are Ironshore in St James; Negril and Savanna-la-Mar in Westmoreland; Lucea, Hanover; Falmouth, Trelawny; and Linstead, St Catherine, according to the JFB’s website.
The team responds to road traffic accident emergencies, life-threatening trauma and cardiovascular emergencies. It also assists unconscious persons, people in acute respiratory distress or experiencing severe bleeding, women in labour, or people experiencing other medical conditions that are life-threatening and require emergency action within the scope of the emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
Deputy Superintendent of the JFB’s Hanover Division, Tamara Snow, reported that EMS assistance is only offered on some days in the parish.
“We have two persons that resigned, and we have two that are on light duties (because of doctor’s orders), so we are short of five out of a required staff complement of 13,” she told councillors.
There is also just one ambulance at the Lucea Fire Station.
Snow further noted that at least two trained medical technicians are needed on a working ambulance, along with a driver, for the vehicle to offer the service for an eight-hour shift, explaining that it was not possible for round-the-clock coverage with just eight members of staff.
“This is serious, very serious!” exclaimed Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels, when he heard of the shortage.
Samuels, who also chairs the HMC, expressed dissatisfaction with the situation, especially against the background that there are several accident-prone areas across the parish, as well as other medical situations that might arise requiring an ambulance.
While pointing out that the senior management of the JFB is fully aware of the shortage, Snow said that there are approximately nine persons now being trained as drivers within the service, with four of them also being trained as EMTs.
She, however, could not say how soon the shortage of personnel in the parish would be fully addressed.
Meanwhile, Dr Kaushal Singh, the senior medical officer in Hanover, also lamented the shortage of an appropriate ambulance service in the parish, while noting that the topography of the parish necessitates emergency coverage for medical assistance.
Pointing also to the difficulty that may arise from traffic congestions, Singh stated: “It can take up to one hour driving time to reach [emergency] medical assistance from some areas.”