Four New Ambulances Added to Fleet of NERHA

Four new ambulances have been added to the fleet of the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) to strengthen its patient transport capacity.

Regional Director, Fabia Lamm, told journalists following the handover at the NERHA offices in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, on Tuesday (January 13), that the ambulances will be assigned to the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital and the St. Ann Public Health Department, in St. Ann; the Port Maria Hospital in St. Mary, and the Port Antonio Hospital in Portland.

She noted that the total cost to procure and retrofit the vehicles into ambulances was more than $65 million, funded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and NERHA.

Ms. Lamm said the handover forms part of a wider effort to strengthen and modernise the ambulance fleet.

“This is in our quest to increase the fleet numbers for ambulances. With these four additions, this brings the total fleet for ambulances to 24,” she said.

The Regional Director pointed out that at least two of the new vehicles will replace older ambulances that were taken out of service through the Board of Survey process.

“The St. Ann’s Bay Hospital will now have seven ambulances in its fleet. The Port Maria Hospital will now move to four; Port Antonio Hospital to four and at the St. Ann Public Health Department, they will now have three ambulances in their fleet,” she informed.

Ms. Lamm said that when all service vehicles are counted, including non-ambulance units, the overall fleet for NERHA now stands at 59 vehicles.

She added that the expanded fleet aims to significantly improve patient care and movement across the region.