Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ministry of Health and Social Services launched an emergency medical services (EMS) awareness campaign in Windhoek on Monday.
The campaign aims to recognise EMS personnel, who the ministry says are often overlooked despite risking their lives to save others.
The campaign was launched under the theme ‘Health is Wealth’.
Paramedics are often the first at the scene of any medical emergency, be it a road accident, heart attack, gender-based violence or other serious crime scenes.
Attending the launch at the Windhoek Central Hospital’s ambulance station were health practitioners, EMS providers and special guests.
Justina Amupolo from the health ministry said the recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown medical service providers cannot work in isolation and need each other.
Amupolo said a concerted effort between the government and EMS providers is mecessary.
“I hope going forward, this starts as a platform of collaborative efforts between the government and all EMS providers,” she said.
She said, with the theme in mind, nothing matters if we do not have health.
The director of Tertiary Healthcare and Clinical Support Services, Johannes Gaeseb, said EMS is an integral part of any healthcare system.
“EMS combines medical expertise with the ability to promptly respond to medical and trauma emergencies at any distance in the shortest possible time. It also involves patients and incident management documentation, as well as inter-hospital transfers,” he said.
EMS focuses on timely healthcare to victims of sudden, life-threatening injuries or medical emergencies to prevent mortalities and improve prognoses, Gaeseb said.
He is also concerned about the increase of trauma due to vehicle accidents, violence and other traumatic events.
Fabian Martens from OSH-Med International said there would be various categories to award EMS responders for their duty and services.
These include best regional progress, best public and private EMS, best private hospital, best control centre, best tertiary and vocational institution lecturer, and best advanced, intermediate and basic life supports as well as emergency care technician.
Nominations can be made on EMS Namibia’s Facebook page.
The launch featured an emergency simulation by paramedics from the ministry.
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