The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH officials plan to deploy at least two ambulances on larger Family Islands, including Exuma, as they work to address response challenges highlighted by recent incidents.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said the ministry is working through the logistics to expand coverage, particularly around Georgetown, where long distances can limit the effectiveness of a single ambulance.

His comments follow the death of 29-year-old Deno Rolle on Exuma. His family said he died after waiting nearly an hour for an ambulance following a hit-and-run, raising questions about whether the delay contributed to his death.

Dr Darville said Exuma does have ambulance services but acknowledged the island’s size presents challenges.

“We are now working the logistics on how to have at least two ambulances on our larger islands, for the logistics in the event of action and movement for individuals that may be further away, particularly in the Georgetown clinic, and so the resident could rest assure that the one ambulance that is in existence has to be expanded to at least two,” he said.

He said ambulances acquired through Inter-American Development Bank funding are being deployed across the Family Islands alongside newly trained emergency medical technicians.

“We are lucky that we just got a cohort of EMT specialists who graduated from the PHA Academy that are going through their final training, and most of them will be deployed to our Family Islands. We want to make sure that the ambulance arrive,” he said.

“The maintenance programme is in place. We have an EMT operator, our nurses and doctors are fully familiar with how the system work so that we will provide excellent ground transportation on the island.”

Dr Darville said ambulances are already in place on several islands, including Bimini, Cat Island and San Salvador, with further deployment tied to available trained staff.

“We have an ambulance in Bimini,” he said. “We have one in Cat Island. We have one in San Salvador, and the list goes on and on. They are moving as the manpower resources are trained so that they can be useful and not just sitting on the Family Islands unproductive.”

He said efforts to expand services must balance cost and sustainability, noting the expense of training personnel and maintaining resources.

He added the ministry is working to ensure any expansion is practical and sustainable.