COVID-19 Dedicated Ambulances

COVID-19 Dedicated Ambulances

RELAY™ EMS (Pty) LTD is a private ambulance service operating within the Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth & Uitenhage), in Graaff-Reinet and Cradock. We offer you responsive and professional medical services for all medical and trauma-related emergencies including inter-hospital patient transfers, IOD’s, RAF, company EMS services, First Aid Training and Event Support.

The Relay EMS team consists of only qualified emergency care staff these include Advanced Life Support; Intermediate Life Support and Basic Life Support. Our vehicles are equipped and maintained to international standards, monitored by live tracing with computer-aided dispatching. When calling our 24/7 emergency number 0861 061 061 you will go through to our state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Centre, Relay EMS offers you the right people, training, equipment, and response.

Underpinned by our core values of professionalism, clinical excellence, compassion, innovation, and integrity, makes Relay EMS your first choice EMS provider.

With the Coronavirus (COVID-19) a reality in South Africa and the number of confirmed cases increasing daily the various medical services in our country play an ever-increasing and vital role, this includes Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Relay EMS provides a pivotal service in responding to and providing patients with emergency medical treatment and transport to medical facilities. With the increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases, the need to treat and transport ether confirmed COVID-19 patients or Patients Under Investigation (PUI), for medical care is growing.

The safety and care of our staff, patients and other healthcare providers is of the utmost importance to us. In support of this, we have strengthened and implemented new protocols and training which relate to the following:

  • Infection control policies and procedures.
  • Education on COVID-19, practical’s and daily refreshers for all our staff members.
  • Screening of all the incoming calls to our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
  • The use of low and high-risk Personal Protective Wear (PPE).
  • Providing our crews with the correct PPE.
  • Identifying low and high-risk procedures when providing emergency medical care to either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient.
  • Scene approach to either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient.
  • Transport of either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient.
  • Notifying the relevant receiving hospital of either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient.
  • Handover of either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient.

Containment and isolation are critical components when providing emergency medical care and transport to either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient. Within our fleet, we have two Iveco’s and we have identified these two vehicles as dedicated ambulances to use when providing emergency medical care and transport to either a confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patient. The vehicles allow us to provide the necessary medical care to patients while ensuring the safety of our staff and other health care workers. These vehicles provide:

  • The driver compartment is separate from the patient treating compartment.
  • Additional space in the rear compartment allows you to provide medical care while maintaining adequate distance.
  • The driver and patient compartments have separate ventilation units, which is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
  • The temperature and humidity can be monitored in the patient compartment.
  • The vehicles have nonporous surfaces that can be cleaned and disinfected.
  • The vehicles will be allocated to our shifts and will have dedicated drivers.

This will allow us to provide confirmed COVID-19 or PUI patients with the best in industry emergency medical care, improve safety for our staff and other health care providers and reducing cross-contamination. We have a vehicle based in Nelson Mandela Bay District and one based in the Sarah Baartman District, depending on the rise of COVID-19 cases, the vehicles can be moved between the two districts to ensure we provide the necessary medical care and service.

At our base we have an isolated undercover cleaning bay and facility where our vehicles and equipment are cleaned and disinfected, laundry can be discarded or cleaned, where the vehicles can be restocked and refuelled from our onsite diesel bowser.