Local manufacturer of hospital equipment, specialized vehicles, and ambulance conversions Prochoice Logistics has invented an ambulance with special features including an internal running water system and an intensive care unit.
Speaking to Great Dyke News 24, Prochoice Corporate Services Director Tafadzwa Chisveto, said the uniqueness of their ambulance conversion is that 90 percent of the materials used are locally produced adding that they only import some technical accessories.
“When we come to convergence, our ambulances become our flagship because that is exactly where we have invested a lot of time in terms of researching and developing it so that it can be used across the globe.
“The designs come in various forms, so we put in a lot of time in our research to understand the functionality of each thing.
“Besides the material, our design is unique, having realised that there was a massive challenge with healthcare providers who run ambulance services in terms of water supply, where they pick up patients from point A to point B.
“At point B it could be a medical facility, rural or urban and there is no water for them to wash their hands and help the patient because as you would appreciate, in any medical procedure one cannot do without water,” she said.
She added that the ambulances are also powered to allow the use of ventilators and patient monitors among other gadgets.
“So we designed our ambulances with internal water running systems where one can actually open a tap and wash hands as you are in transit and as you are dealing with a patient at the point of collection.
“For us, this is very unique in the sense and it was responding to water challenges within our country. Another unique feature is that the enhancement in terms of power that we put in our ambulances makes sure that if we say we are building an intensive care unit, the power that we put in our ambulances is able to power equipment of any voltage.
“You can run your patient monitors and ventilators, so we upgraded our power and lighting as well. So the development of our product has reached a stage where we answer particular questions. We also come to the element of vehicle suspension and a lot of enhancement was done to ensure that the weight of the vehicle is good enough for the road network.
“We also recommend off the road type of vehicles to our clients that are operating from the rural setup and all of those things are considerations we are making when designing a unit,” she added.
Recently Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who also doubles up as Health and Child Care Minister said Zimbabwe has a shortage of functioning ambulances, and currently has a fleet of 134 ambulances out of 200 that are required in the country.
He added that the Ministry of Health was establishing an ambulance services directorate which would ensure that every part of the country has access to ambulances for emergency services.
Vice President Chiwenga said the government was working to ensure the country has adequate functional ambulances throughout the country to ferry patients timely to medical facilities.
“My Ministry’s vision for ambulance services is to ensure that when a life-threatening situation arises, patients can reach a health facility within two hours,” he said.
Prochoice has strategically located itself where it can help the government and the private sector achieve medical emergency preparedness to save lives. If taken up by the local market their ambulance conversion initiative will also save the scarce available foreign currency while promoting the produce local and buy local campaign. Prochoice is a member of Buy Zimbabwe which promotes the production and consumption of local products.
The government recently imported 100 ambulances at a time when Prochoice is angling to make their presence felt on the market.
