Why is the Mauritian emergency ambulance service non-effective?
Again another case of a person dying because the ambulance service is not available. Heard on Radio1 12/09/2012, around 2am a person phones the SAMU to be told ambulance is not available. The service sends an ordinary van at around 4am too late the patient dies.
10 Replies
When I had my accident. I gave them exact coordinate GPS location including the name of the road. I had to give my phone to a lady who gave them the name of the village because they don't even know google maps and internet
Some weeks back the same situation was brought on radio. And still nothing happens. Makes me wanna put foul words here but unfortunately I can't!!!@@@ Keep cool khush, the sheeple are gonna be awake one day. But hope not too late.
It's all to go with how the government runs the country and the mentality of people here. It is a known fact that people who work in the government sector tend to be lazy and do the minimum that is required of them. I once went to the Citizenship/Residency office found in Sterling House (Passport Office) and the receptionist counter was closed because the person had gone to lunch (at 11am!). They have adopted an attitude which works in their favour with no thought whatsoever towards the citizens. If you go to the Social Security department to get an ID card, you'll get the impression the staff working there, the one you're dealing with is the boss and you'll have to succumb to what he says, otherwise your job is going to be delayed.
My cousin took her grandmother to the ENT Hospital the other day and her appointment was at 10am. When she reached there, she was asked to wait, so she tried to find a seat for the grandma but she was told the seat was apparently reserved and therefore they had to stand and wait. 2 hours later and they were still not seen by the doctor and when she kicked up a fuss, they told her the latter is on lunch now. When she finally saw the doctor, she was out in 5 mins because it was just a matter of scheduling another appointment.
The government has nurtured this sort of attitude and that's here to stay. I don't see workers in the government sector changing their attitude/behaviour any time soon. Their work practices are very inefficient but people have got accustomed to that now and that's where the problem lies.
The majority of the population is Indian and this ethnic group is reserved by nature. This means they won't complain when they are receiving a bad service. They will not argue or raise their voices when things don't go as expected. They are tolerant and when those in power find people they can walk over, well they obviously will...
I despair when I see the work ethics you described. I will not set foot in the government hospitals. I have taken a medical insurance so that I can use the private system. Regarding the incident I described above, in Europe there would be hell to play. The establishment would have a court case lodged against them for involuntary homicide and no doubt considerable costs would be paid to the family.
I am horrified at the attitude that is responsible for considerable distress in families here. I have heard people weeping and crying asking Radio stations to help them in desperate situations. This country is undergoing huge development most of which is from grants by India, China and the EU but the people still suffer from neglect. No wonder educated Mauritians want to migrate to normality.
Tourists are fascinated when they come to Mauritius because it's truly a beautiful island and Mauritians are happy to see developments all around them. However the mentality of people haven't changed with the advancement. The society still remains lacking in human values.
Yes, in Europe they wouldn't get away with this. It would be a national scandal but here everything is so corrupted that these things are easily covered up.
I see luxurious shopping malls popping everywhere and get disappointed when I visit them because I expect more. The shops are not cheap and I'm fine paying the same price I would in the UK but only if I was getting a good service. No help from the salesgirl, actually not even a greeting when you enter the shop! Ditch this, let's talk about Health & Safety - I don't know if I should be angry at the lady cleaning the hall who left her soaked mop lying on the floor and forgot to put up a sign to warn people the floor is slippery or to the management of the shopping centre. In the end, it's how they do things here. Would anyone complain? No, those who noticed the mop would go round it and those who slip and fall would feel embarrassed and try to get up as quickly as they could and hope no one saw them...
It's good you have private medical insurance but I found that slowly the bad practices are coming to the private sector as well. Hoping that an Irish doctor would be more in line with the EU way of thinking, I made an appointment. Sometimes, you run a little late and I understand that and I'd wait 10-20 mins more but I waited for 1 and half hours that time and there were still people before me. It wasn't not a free service but I was going to pay over the odds for a consultation, yet the practice was run as if it was a walk in clinic. So I walked away. The Irish woman has lived here for a long time now, so eventually you go with the flow. It seems that as long as you don't get told off, you're doing things right (applies to those who've killed their conscience and have no sense of morality).
I don't want to scare you but I'd had a bad experience with Apollo Bramwell too. Private, yes. Expensive, yes. I've had better service in the NHS (UK free health service)...
all of you are wrong....before sueing you must know what you are doing.the health sector is free in mauritius.We have got only five samu services in mauritius .if you dont give the proper information,you will not get the service.if the medicalised ambulance is already doing an intervention,,you will not get such services.Many stupid people give false information to have the services of the samu....unfortunately we cant sue them for their bad hadits!!!if you dont get the samu,you have the right to sue,,,,there will be inquiry and since all samu services are connected to GPRS system,you will be able to know wheteher the service were free on any day and time of the year...everything is recorded......so,,,,before criticizing the samu,,,,be intelligent....am proudto be a Mauritian with a good Government,,,and a good health sytem...if you foreigners just criticise our country because you could not get papers easily to become resident,,,better stay in your European country full of corruption,,,financial crisis,,,and natural disasters sent by God.
If we are all wrong then why is there so many incidents with the Samu? The health service being free is another debate it would seem not to be up to standard because there are so many complaints and incidents. We do not criticize for nothing. By the way the EU is contributing with many grants to this country. Without the EU tax payer's money this country would not have enjoyed such a modern development. Also, the fishing sector and NGOs working with handicapped children are benefiting from equipment offered by the EU schemes. So be careful about biting the foreign hand that feeds you! Also, we do not criticise regarding residency because we have obtained it. About there being a good government, this is also another debate, many Mauritians would have thoughts on that in the light of the recent problems. When you speak of financial problems, corruption and disasters it would seem that Mauritius has it's fair share in those categories.
Similar topics for you
Ask the Mauritians
Sharing local knowledge to make information more accessible to Mauritians, expats and tourists
Become Member