Westmoreland loses one of its two emergency ambulances in a crash

WESTERN BUREAU:

Health services in the parish of Westmoreland suffered a crippling blow on Tuesday night when one of the two ambulances assigned to the fire service in the parish was damaged beyond repair in a crash along the Sheffield main road, near Negril.

Stewart Beckford, commissioner of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, confirmed the damage to the ambulance, saying its absence will severely impact the brigade’s ability to respond promptly to medical emergencies, particularly in Negril. The region’s tourism hub.

“With this ambulance out of service, it simply means that the division of Westmoreland will be operating with one less ambulance. This no doubt will put a strain on our ability to respond to all medical and the other related calls that we normally respond to as an emergency medical services provider,” said Beckford.

“We are hoping that we will be able to replace this ambulance overtime, but in the interim, what we will do is relocate the ambulance from Savanna-la-Mar (Fire Station) to Negril because Negril is one of our busiest sites across the country,” he added.

CONCERNS

According to Beckford, the ambulance was returning from the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital to Negril when a vehicle travelling in the opposite direction swerved right, to avoid a broken branch from a tree, and collided with the ambulance.

While there were no serious injuries to the personnel travelling in the ambulance, the vehicle was so badly damaged that there is no consideration to repair it. The accident is being investigated by the Westmoreland police.

Elaine Allen-Bradley, president of the Negril Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expressed relief that there were no serious injuries, but raised concerns about the competence of the country’s ambulance drivers, considering the frequency with which they are involved in accidents, some of which have led to ambulances being ‘written off’.

“I don’t know why the ambulances are being written off so quickly. Is it to say the drivers of the ambulances are not experts? asked Allen-Bradley, especially regarding ambulance drivers in Westmoreland. “Why Negril has been having so many ambulances written off, there must be something with their competence.”

“It seems to me that drivers need to be more competent, but when I asked, they said they are highly trained,” said Allen-Bradley, in reference to conversations she has had with the Westmoreland Division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

URGENT INTERVENTION

Ian Hayles, the People’s National Party’s (PNP) candidate for Westmoreland Western, says with Negril expected to see much tourism traffic this summer, he has concerns about the town’s current capacity to handle emergencies.“The citizens of Negril need an ambulance, and we need it before the weekend; that’s how important Negril is,” said Hayles. He noted that with a population of more than 140,000 alongside the usual influx of visitors, it would be quite risky not to have an emergency vehicle not readily available.

“If we must go to Savanna-la Mar or the Noel Holmes Hospitals, we will have a challenge because we now don’t have an ambulance that is dedicated to Negril,” said Hayles.

He emphasised the necessity of having an accessible ambulance for Negril’s tourism sector and residents as emergencies can occur at any time.

Like Allen-Bradley, Hayles believes that there is a need to provide ambulance drivers with advance training so that they are better able to protect themselves and the patients they transport who are often already injured and not capable of dealing with additional trauma.