The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Kunle Salako, on Friday, inaugurated advanced trauma life support and tricycle ambulances for selected public health facilities in Ogun State, for life-saving intervention in emergency situations.
The initiative, according to the Minister, was one of the steps by the Federal Government to strengthen emergency medical services, and ensure that every Nigerian resident, regardless of location or financial status, can access timely and life-saving emergency care.
Salako said this in his keynote remarks at the flag-off and distribution held at the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta, under the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System (NEMSAS).
He noted that many lives were lost on a daily basis because emergency care is delayed, saying that NEMSAS has supported more than 48,000 women to receive free emergency obstetric care.
The Minister also added that over 4,000 women would receive free caesarean sections in NHIA-empanelled facilities, contributing to a 17 per cent fall in maternal deaths and a 12 per cent fall in newborn deaths in 172 high-burden local governments in the country.
Salako revealed that 145 tricycles, 6 boats, 15 Basic Life Support (BLS) and 79 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances have been acquired, in addition to support tools like laptops, printers, and communication devices.
“These ambulances and tools are being distributed across Nigeria as the first phase of this initiative to strengthen the Emergency Medical Service System across the country with Ogun State a beneficiary of 3 ALS, 1 BLS and 9 tricycle ambulances targetting federal/state tertiary institutions (FMC and OOUTH), selected high volume or remote secondary and primary healthcare facilities.
“This validates the national commitment to subnational level including my home state of Ogun where these emergency medical service assets will support response across diverse communities, from urban centres to hard-to-reach rural settings. Our approach has also shifted from simply providing ambulances to establishing a more coordinated emergency-care system, one in which transportation, trained personnel, communication, referral pathways, and definitive treatment are seamlessly connected,” the Minister added.
The State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, represented by his deputy, Engr Noimot Salako-Oyedele, appreciated the Federal Government for the support intervention programme, with the state receiving three CNG advanced life support ambulances and ten tricycle ambulances for some communities across the state.
“This intervention is particularly important because, as you have heard, in emergency healthcare, the most important thing is access and time. These are the most critical factors for our patients who need the care. And a good health facility can only save the life of a patient if you can get the patient to the facility on time.
“We recognize this as a reality in our state. As you heard in earlier remarks as well, this is a highly industrialized state. It has major roads going through our state, and as such, we do get an unprecedented amount of emergency calls across our state,” Salako-Oyedele said.
