KA IKING 4U: Localized Free Ambulance Services

As it is supposed to be, anyone in the Philippines should be able to dial 911, and a telephone operator should be able to dispatch fire, rescue, ambulance and police (FRAP) units as soon as possible, based on acceptable response times. I invented the FRAP acronym for easy recall, and I hope it sticks, if there is no other alternative.

Unfortunately, due to a mixture of technical and political reasons, the Philippines has not adopted 911 as a national number, because some LGUs would rather use their own three-digit numbers such as 117 and 168.

I actually proposed a technical solution to that problem, but it was not adopted either. For whatever it is worth, my solution is to install a call forwarding system that could route all calls to a central operator, regardless of what number is dialed.

It is very sad for me to know that up to now, even if our country is already over one hundred years old, there are still many LGUs that do not have fire trucks. It is therefore not a surprise for me to find out, that there are also many LGUs that do not have free ambulances to dispatch, in case someone in their localities have to be brought to the hospital.

When I was a Director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), I was very surprised to find out that many LGUs would rather wait for a long time to receive a free ambulance donation, instead of buying it on their own, considering that they are already able to buy other service vehicles on their own. I can understand that they might want to save money, but how much is the value of one life lost, because he or she was not taken to the hospital on time?

I think that aside from the ambulances, the LGUs also need to train and hire Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who are the only ones qualified to man the ambulances. I think that it is about time for all citizens to demand that there should be ambulances that are ready to transport them, in case of emergencies. But aside from that, the LGUs need to put up their reliable 911 systems that could quickly respond to emergency calls.* (iseneres@yahoo.com)