Ambulance bases of shame

Aerial pics and the pics over the wall of ambulances: Buthelezi EMS’ new ambulances on a smallholding in Eikenhof in the south of Johannesburg waiting to be branded.

26th April 2018 | Spotlight

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An ambulance base has to comply with a certain set of minimum requirements contained in among others the National Health Act. At the end of last year, the Department of Health published a new set of regulations which detail exactly what the requirements are for an ambulance base.

The new regulations can be read here

Spotlight recently sent a photojournalist to four Buthelezi EMS bases. Two in the North West, Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom; one in the Free State, Bloemfontein; and what is suspected to be a central base or headquarters in Eikenhof, Johannesburg.

Images from Bloemfontein and Potchefstroom specifically, show filthy yards, bare insides with no evidence that it is an ambulance base and further evidence that safety and hygiene is not a priority. The images are published alongside our series of investigative articles #Health4Sale.

: Bloemfontein: The Buthelezi EMS ambulance base in Bloemfontein, overcrowded and filthy.

: Bloemfontein: The overcrowded yard is full of ambulances, some not in running order, and dumped rubbish, with ambulances spilling onto the pavement.

: Bloemfontein: The outside areas and yard of Buthelezi’s ground ambulance base in Bloemfontein.

: Bloemfontein: An aerial shot of the Bloemfontein ambulance base, likely to be the busiest and “largest” base Buthelezi EMS runs in the Free State and North West.

: JHB: Headquarters: Buthelezi EMS’ smallholding south of Johannesburg where at last 22 ambulances are being stored as well as several other pieces of machinery, a horse, broken vehicles and outbuildings.

: JHB: Skeleton – A gutted Free State Department of Health branded ambulance at the Johannesburg property

: JHB: Aerial shot of the base

: JHB: Aerial shot of the smallholding

: Johannesburg smallholding.

: JHB: Aerial shot of the smallholding

: JHB: Smallholding used as a base

: Klerksdorp: Home – Buthelezi’s Klerksdorp ambulance base

: Potchefstroom: The backyard of the house with rubbish dumped at the back door. None of ambulance bases appear to have dedicated medical waste areas that are marked biohazardous. Access to these waste areas must be controlled.

: Potchefstroom: The Buthelezi EMS ambulance base in Bloemfontein, overcrowded and filthy. The Free State health department said it’s contract does not require for it to inspect the base, despite the fact that the company transports most of the province’s patients.