Four new ambulances arrive

Four of 11 new ambulances have arrived in Malta and will start operating in the beginning of January. Another four ambulances are to arrive in February and the remaining three will be in Malta by January 2014, Health Minister Joseph Cassar said. Standing in front of the four new yellow and green Fiat ambulances, Dr Cassar said that they were built to cater for intensive care level. This meant that intensive care treatment could be given to a patient on the way to hospital. He said the ambulances arrived after a €2.5 million tender was awarded. The 11 new ambulances will be joining the existing seven ambulances that are between five and nine years old. Jonathan Joslin, a consultant at the Emergency Department, said that until December 18 this year there had been 25,398 ambulance calls and the department predicted that this year’s calls will exceed last year’s by some 1,500. Ambulances had been called for 929 traffic accidents, 2,700 cardiac complications, 3,300 respiratory complications and over 700 strokes.