Health Ministry admits that ambulance shortage hinders service delivery

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The Ministry of Health and Social Services has acknowledged a significant impediment in public health service delivery, stemming from the operation of only a fraction of the allocated 215 ambulances. This has detrimentally affected services, especially in emergencies. Ben Nangombe, the Executive Director of the Ministry, described the situation’s severity, comparing the lack of ambulances to a critical resource deficit in the public health sector. He said that this shortage directly hinders service provision, resulting in essential services being unattended during emergencies. Nangombe pointed out instances where timely ambulance responses were compromised due to multiple simultaneous emergencies. Current…