By Staff Writer, Lusaka
Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya says he reviewed the procurement process of ambulances with a professional mind and that he sees nothing wrong with it.
Dr Chilufya says the Ministry’s need for advanced life support ambulances was not arrived at as an afterthought adding that there was and still is a need to
have ambulances with Intensive Care facilities.
In a statement, the health minister said custom-designed intensive care units are a lifeline for
seriously compromised patients.
Dr Chilufya added that critically ill patients often
need to be urgently transferred between hospitals so that
they can receive highly specialized, often lifesaving care at
the most appropriate facility.
The minister further explained that such patients are often so
compromised that they require an intensive care
environment while en route between hospitals to ensure
that they remain stable and safe throughout their transfer.
Dr Chilufya wondered why it was wrong for government to extend this service to
ordinary citizens.
Meanwhile, the minister has further wondered where people got the highly publicized $288,000 per ambulance when the total cost of the project was $11.5 million.
“This alone should tell you the motive behind those who
are stuck to this story. You should not even be misled into
dividing $11.5m by 50 because the $11.5m package
awarded to the successful bidder Savenda Management
Services included a lot more than just the purchase of
ambulances. It included training 200 people to support the
operation of the ambulances which was 100 paramedics, 50
doctors and 50 mechanics. Apart from the training of the
people manning these highly advanced ambulances, the package included the provision of spare parts for five years
regardless of mileage,” Dr Chilufya explained.
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