Paramedics plundered

2003-03-16 21:34

Wayne Muller

Port Elizabeth - While paramedics of a private ambulance services were trying to save a patient who went into a coma in New Brighton on Saturday night, their ambulance was stripped of its equipment.

Medical equipment worth about R200 000 was stolen from the Netcare ambulance.

Elgin Magnus of Netcare said the patient, a diabetic, was in a coma when the two paramedics arrived at the house.

They took the equipment they needed inside and were busy with the patient for more than an hour. In the meanwhile, the ambulance was being stripped.

Magnus said the items stolen included a two-way radio, a siren, a handbag, a bag with first-aid equipment and an expensive ECG monitor.

"They stole everything they could remove," Magnus said.

He said the equipment in the ambulance was not manufactured in South Africa and had to be imported from America.

"The thieves will find it difficult to sell the equipment because the market in Port Elizabeth is very limited. They will probably be caught then," he said.

- Die Burger