Ambulance operators across Guyana, including private hospitals and the Guyana Fire Service, could soon be required to meet mandatory equipment, staffing, and safety standards as the Government moves to introduce legislation regulating emergency medical services.
The proposed Emergency Medical Services Bill, which is expected to be introduced in the National Assembly today, would establish a regulatory authority responsible for licensing emergency medical service providers and enforcing standards for their operations.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall, SC, outlined the proposed legislation during his weekly programme, Issues in the News, on Tuesday evening.
He said the bill would address a longstanding gap in Guyana’s healthcare system by creating a specific legal framework for emergency medical treatment provided before patients reach hospitals.
According to Nandlall, ambulances would no longer be permitted to operate without satisfying the standards prescribed under the proposed legislation.
These requirements would include appropriate medical equipment, suitably qualified personnel and vehicles properly equipped to transport and treat patients experiencing medical emergencies.
The regulations would apply to ambulance services operated by public healthcare facilities, private hospitals and the Guyana Fire Service.
“Vehicles that are operating as ambulances will now have to be standardised and they will have to satisfy the legal requirements that are laid down in this law,” Nandlall explained.
The Attorney General said the legislation would also establish standards governing personnel responsible for driving and staffing ambulances, ensuring that those individuals possess the qualifications required to provide emergency services.
Nandlall stressed that effective emergency medical services involve significantly more than transporting a patient from the scene of an accident or medical emergency to a hospital.
He explained that critically ill and injured persons often require immediate medical attention, stabilisation and continuous monitoring before arriving at a healthcare institution.
Without appropriate intervention during that period, he warned, patients could suffer serious complications or even die before reaching a medical facility.
“It makes no sense having the best hospitals equipped with the best equipment and have all the drugs and pharmaceuticals, but by the time you reach the hospital, you die or you suffer irreparable harm and damage medically because you didn’t have the proper care prior to your arrival at the hospital,” he said.
The Attorney General argued that ambulance operations and pre-hospital emergency treatment must be regarded as essential components of the wider healthcare system.
He said the proposed legislation would complement ongoing investments in hospitals, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and other healthcare infrastructure.
The proposed law comes amid wider efforts to reorganise Guyana’s ambulance and emergency response services.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Health outlined plans for a national emergency medical system that would improve coordination between ambulances and hospitals, establish response-time targets and provide additional training for emergency medical technicians.
The Government also announced plans to deploy ambulances strategically to improve response times, initially along the coast before extending the system to interior regions.
Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony previously explained that new ambulance designs would allow medical personnel sufficient space to begin treating patients while they are being transported.
The Emergency Medical Services Bill is expected to be introduced by Dr. Anthony during Wednesday’s parliamentary sitting.
