The Mandate Secretary of Health, Human and Environment Services, Adedolapo Fasawe, on Friday disclosed that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Executive Council has ratified a contract for the purchase of 12 new emergency ambulances at the cost of N1.74 billion to aid emergency responses.
Fasawe said this after a meeting of the FCT Executive Council at the FCT Minister’s official residence.
The contract ratification comes months after the Secretary, in July, announced the planned purchase of the ambulances, as well as the digitisation of emergency response units across FCT hospitals.
Speaking during a Community First Responders Training organised by the Health Emergency Initiative and the FCT Primary Health Care Board, Fasawe said, ‘I’m happy to announce that we will soon commission about 12 ambulances here.
‘Mr. Wike purchased new ambulances for us. And we don’t only want ambulances, we want ambulance services, where we will have a station, we will have pilots, and all our nurses are first responders.
‘Very soon, all our hospitals will accessible online. You will be able to know when there is a bed, when there is no bed, and which hospital is closest to you. Technology is very important’, she said.
Speaking during the briefing on Friday, the Health Secretary stated that the buses were 12 units of Toyota Hiace, 2023/2024 models, purchased for a total sum of N1.74 billion, adding that the ambulances had been received and will be commissioned very soon.
Fasawe further explained that the Secretariat had partnered with the National Communications Commission to ensure that residents could dial the 112 toll-free line in cases of emergency, from where they would then be patched to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance System, and the FCT Health Insurance Scheme.
She further said the FCT had zero tolerance for carrying dead bodies with the ambulances, adding that the administration was looking into buying hearses in the next budget.
