Ambulances are mostly up to the mark, health ministry panel says

A Public Health Ministry committee said yesterday that except for spine boards, most of the equipment in 232 high-performance ambulances met the specifications of the purchase contract.

In general, most items were according to the specifications and safe for use but needed to be followed up regarding defects or malfunctions in actual use later on, Dr Panya Sornkom, the committee's head, told a press conference yesterday afternoon.

The ministry will send a circular to the hospitals using the ambulances to follow up on their performance, he said.

Only one item of equipment, spine boards used in cases of back injury, was found to be not according to specification and obviously unsafe for use.

Panya said the ambulances' body and roof structure was complete and not modified from their original form.

Parts of the vehicle floor and patient bed were sent for testing to see if they were made of the right materials, he said.

The wheelchairs supplied had no footrests, but experts insisted they were all right, he said.

Although the oxygen-cylinder valves were according to specifications, their safety in use was arguable, he added.

The committee found that the neck braces supplied were of a different brand than specified but concluded that they could function as specified, Panya said.

However, the committee has asked the Food and Drug Administration to look into claims that these neck braces were counterfeits. Panya's committee was set up on the orders of the Public Health Minister after the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) found that the spine boards, flooring, wheelchairs, oxygen-cylinder valves and beds in the ambulances did not meet required standards.

Panya said his panel would submit its report to Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla next week in two parts, the first containing its findings and the second stating its conclusions following the results of the material testing.

Meanwhile, the ambulance committee yesterday agreed that the supplier must change the spine boards in all 232 ambulances to meet specifications within 30 days.

Dr Kittisak Klubdee, head of the committee, said the panel would wait for Panya's committee's conclusions before deciding what should be done about the other items.

Health permanent secretary Prat Boonyawongvirot said he had assigned Kittisak to follow up on the OAG's request for some items in the ambulances to be changed and report within 45 days.

Duangkamol Sajirawatthanakul

The Nation

The right ambulance equipment and training for paramedics can be vital in saving lives.