Govt to roll out new service
The Ministry of Health (MoH) and partners will this month roll out an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) project on the Blantyre-Lilongwe M1 Road to provide emergency services to accident victims.
The project is being implemented by Trek Medics International in partnership with the MoH, Roads Authority (RA) and the World Bank’s Global Road Safety facility.
The pilot phase is expected to take 15 months and will inform the feasibility of the EMS concept nationwide.
A statement by Trek Medics International published in the Journal of Emergency Medical Services states that road traffic injury victims along the M1 will be attended to by a group of newly-trained personnel of emergency responders.
Reads the statement in part: “In addition to working side-by-side with the Malawian government to implement their emergency response system, it is our sincere desire to see this innovative programme serve as an effective model for other countries who are overwhelmed by the economic, societal and personal impacts of road traffic injuries.”
In an interview yesterday, MoH spokesperson Joshua Malango said 23 ambulances are already in the country.
“Phase one of the EMS targets Lilongwe to Blantyre. The ambulances will be furnished with equipment to help accident victims on the way to hospitals. We are trying to save lives that are lost due to the absence of instant help,” he said.
The partnership seeks to establish a dispatch and communications system to support the implementation of the EMS on the M1 stretch between Lilongwe and Blantyre.
Trek Medics International is a non-governmental organisation which works to improve EMS in communities without reliable access to emergency care through innovative mobile phone technologies.
