Emergency services not up to the mark

NST: Your loved one has just collapsed. You dash to the phone and call 991. You wait, wait and wait. Your concern turns to fear, then to frustration and anger. There is still no sign of the ambulance...

KUALA LUMPUR: There are not enough ambulances in the country — a shortage that is nearing critical levels, the New Straits Times has found.
But sources reveal that the shortage of ambulances is just the first layer of the problem.
They cannot match international standards, taking longer than most developed countries to reach more than 5,000 accidents in the nation every day.
When they do reach the patient, they usually have no medically-trained person on board to treat the injured or critically-ill in what doctors call the "golden hour".
There is not even an Ambulance Act, a law common in many countries to set the benchmark for emergency services.
The state of medical emergency response here is prompting the government to move urgently to fix the problem.
Malaysia’s top health official, Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican, agreed there was an ambulance shortage.
"We should have more, and the number depends on the location. Urban areas usually require more. Fourteen ambulances in KL is not enough."
He also noted that the services take too long to respond.
"Anything more than 15 minutes is unacceptable," he said.
There is not even a clear picture of how many ambulances there are in the country, and the authorities who have the figures are tight-lipped about them.
In the Klang Valley, the 14 all-day ambulances cater to 6.5 million people — not including ambulances in private hospitals, which charge a lot more.
The 14 services have to dash about handling an average of 85 emergency calls daily, while in Penang, just five vehicles respond to about 50 calls a day.
Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw said it was clear that the number of ambulances was inadequate for KL while Segambut MP Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong suggested that the number of ambulances should be about 80 for KL.
In greater London, there is one ambulance for every 27,000 people.
This is about four times more than the number catering to the KL population, according to figures from St John’s Ambulans Malaysia regional commander for the Federal Territory Dr Lee Hoo Teong.
Kepong’s Dr Tan said: "Not only should we have more ambulances, they should be manned by well-trained personnel and be well-equipped."
Dr Ismail admitted that not all ambulances operated by the agencies were in good condition or well-equipped and that not all staff were well-trained to treat victims, adding that the ministry was looking into these problems.
Another thing the ministry is trying to fix is the lack of coordination, which leads to public confusion.
Only 11 ambulances in Klang Valley respond to the familiar "991" telephone number.
They include two from SJAM, four from University Malaya Medical Centre and five from Malaysian Red Crescent Society.
The remaining three ambulances are from the Civil Defence department, which answers 991 calls.
Saying this was an important issue, Dr Ismail revealed that the ministry was now working on co-ordinating the ambulance services in the country.
Among the efforts are an Ambulance Call Centre and a motorcycle ambulance squad to race to areas where ambulances would take longer to arrive.
"Our aim is to provide service within 10 minutes of getting a call for an ambulance."
In developed countries, ambulances aim to arrive within seven to eight minutes of any crisis.
In Malaysia, even the ambulance agencies themselves admit they cannot match that. Estimates range from 10 to 45 minutes.