Planned Patient Transport (PPT) bus caught fire near while transporting 52 patients. Picture: Screenshot
Safety concerns have been raised by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) after the Planned Patient Transport (PPT) bus caught alight on Monday.
The incident comes after two recent road crashes involving the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) vehicles last week.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health said no patients were harmed in the fire.
It said the bus, which is from the uThukela Emergency Medical Rescue base, caught fire near Cedara while transporting 52 patients.
“All patients were safely evacuated and transferred to Greys Hospital in the uMgungundlovu District using three 22-seater buses,” the Department reported.
Additional transport was dispatched to ensure that each patient returned home safely. “By midnight, all patients had been safely dropped off by EMS personnel in Estcourt, Ladysmith, Dundee, and Vryheid,” the Department stated, adding that an internal investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.
In separate incidents, two road crashes involving the Department's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) vehicles also occurred last week.
A bus from the Nakekela Hub in Manguzi overturned near Mbazwana in the uMkhanyakude District after colliding with a stray cow.
“One patient who was trapped in the wrecked bus sadly passed away, while the rest of the passengers and two crew members sustained minor injuries and were transported to eMseleni Hospital,” the department said at the time.
In a second accident, an EMS vehicle carrying two injured minors from Itshelejuba Hospital to Ngwelezane Hospital also hit a stray cow and overturned, but there were no injuries.
Nehawu raised concern over safety issues for both health workers and patients.
Ntokozo Nxumalo, a spokesperson for Nehawu, said the incidents underscored the risks faced by EMS staff.
“These incidents raise an issue of safety for both health workers and patients,” Nxumalo stated. He added that Nehawu had previously advocated for a death grant to support families if a health worker dies on duty, but that proposal was rejected.
“We had raised the death grant to say that in an event a health worker dies while on duty, their family must receive a grant; however, this employer shut it down,” he said.