That’s the gauntlet thrown down to KwaZulu-Natal transport MEC Siboniso Duma by private ambulance company Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedics after he accused them of “bulldozing” their way into accident scenes, bullying law enforcement, inflating casualty numbers and refusing to treat dying patients without medical aid. Attorney Wesley J Rodgers, acting on behalf of ALS Paramedics, sent Duma a 7-page letter on Friday, after the politician addressed media at the scene of a minibus taxi andtruck crash in Lotus Park, south of Durban, on Thursday. Eleven people died, and eight others were injured.
“When they [ALS] enter the scene, they tend to bulldoze. If you don’t have medical aid, they are not going to assist you — if it means you are dying, if it means they could still save you. It is why we prefer you deal with the department of health.
The MEC’s spokesperson, Ndabezinhle Sibiya, said the letter sent to the media is “laughable” and Duma would not retract any statement. Rogers said his client disputed Duma’s statements as “false, vexatious and defamatory” and presented evidence contradicting the MEC’s claims that the province’s emergency response system provided a stronger service or that ALS failed to transport injured patients at Thursday’s crash. He said Duma’s allegations of unprofessional conduct and discriminatory practices by ALS caused his client reputational harm.
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“At the scene in question, our client in fact transported two patients without medical aid to [a] public hospital (Albert Luthuli Hospital), and it does so on an ongoing basis where required.” He said ALS also assisted two other patients at the scene. On the issue of the state’s health services, Rogers alleged all five of the KZN emergency medical response service (EMRS) vehicles at the scene were operating unlawfully, as they did not display valid operating licences as required under the National Health Act and emergency medical services regulations. “In addition, the EMRS paramedics that attended the scene lacked even basic pain medication and an ECG [electrocardiogram] monitor and had requested [one] from our client.
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