Cape Medical Response recently got a call to transfer a patient to Constantiaberg as an emergency. But they were stopped at the Chapman’s Peak toll first. According to Entilini Concession – the company that operates the road –  even ambulances must stop and pay the toll fee, “irrespective of whether it is an emergency.”

Alan Walters, the medical director of Cape Medical Response, says he was “absolutely gobsmacked” when he heard the news.

It’s just amazing, really nonsense. I’m not talking about going to a meeting in a response car, I’m talking about an ambulance with lights flashing with a critically ill patient in the back. It happened when the guys were on call and they got a call to go to Hout Bay to transfer a patient to Constantiaberg as an emergency. They were stopped at the toll and had to scrabble around collecting money to pay the toll.

I wrote to Rob Pomario, a director of Entilini Concession, asking that ambulances be granted exemption from toll fees when attending to a medical emergency so that valuable seconds can be saved. He wrote back to say he could not grant the ambulances exemption from the toll fees. He also suggested that we carry a float at all times to avoid any delays in finding toll fees. Alternatively, he also suggested, we could also discuss ‘a frequent user facility’ with the operator.

[Source: News24]