Reuters
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Durban – A Verulam pensioner died of a suspected heart attack at the weekend, apparently after being refused help by staff of the KwaZulu-Natal Emergency Medical Rescue Service (EMRS), a public ambulance service which was on strike, the woman’s family said.
Relatives of Theelawathie Sukhraj, 69, said she had gone to the bathroom at 5.30pm on Saturday and then complained of feeling hot.
Her nephew, Avidth Ramessar, 33, said on Monday his aunt had fainted and then struggled to breathe.
Relatives phoned EMRS but were allegedly told the staff were on strike and that an ambulance could not be sent to their home in Katzkop Drive, Mount View, in Verulam.
“This is a life we are talking about and they tell you staff are on a go-slow,” Ramessar said.
He said another relative phoned Reaction Unit SA, a security company, and pleaded for help.
The security company was given the same response by EMRS, its spokesman Prem Balram said.
“Our controller made a call to 10177; however, EMRS said they were on strike and could not help. The family was informed, but they could not afford a private ambulance.”
A short while later, the family phoned the security control again to say a doctor had declared Sukhraj dead. Ramessar was devastated, saying his aunt could have been alive if an ambulance had been sent.
In May, EMRS paramedics, who protested in Durban, warned that the government’s ambulance service would come to a standstill if their demands were not met. Their grievances included a demand for overtime and a danger allowance.
Health Department spokesman Samuel Mkhwanazi said he needed more time to compile a response on Sukhraj’s death.
The department would have to listen to tapes of the day of the incident, he said.
The Mercury
