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Three new Fotón ambulances will soon begin operating in the province of Matanzas, as part of the program for "improvement of emergency medical services" in Cuba, according to the state newspaper Girón.
The vehicles were assigned to the territorial bases of Cárdenas, Matanzas, and Jovellanos, an area where the availability and technical condition of the ambulance fleet has been a recurring issue.
With the addition, there are now only 16 functioning ambulances in the province, out of the 54 required.
Another group is undergoing repairs for its subsequent commissioning, which —according to the provincial health director, Yamira López García— should increase the "technical availability coefficient."
Doctor López García explained that Matanzas and Cárdenas cover areas of high demand.
In particular, Cárdenas serves Varadero, Martí, and Cárdenas with its territorial hospital. The Fotón brand belongs to the Chinese company of the automotive group BAIC.
The Matanzas base, in addition to its population, covers Unión de Reyes and Limonar, is responsible for provincial hospitals, and also manages transfers to Havana for specialties such as Adult Interventional Cardiology and Pediatrics, as well as Pediatric Oncology, among other requests directed to institutes.
In the case of Jovellanos, which also serves Pedro Betancourt, the management indicated that it only had one ambulance in "fair condition", so the arrival of a new vehicle is a significant reinforcement for that area.
"The international standards for integrated emergency medical systems (SIUM) establish a coefficient that, in the case of the province and its 600,000 inhabitants, should be 54 ambulances. While we are aware that increasing to 16 ambulances is still not sufficient, this translates to a larger quantity and better quality in emergency and urgent care," stated López García.
According to the published information, all ambulances in the system in Matanzas are managed by a provincial coordination center, which organizes responses based on priority, taking into account the patient's condition and "internationally established rescue algorithms."
This assignment to Matanzas is part of the 50 new ambulances acquired by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), which will be put into service following the commissioning work carried out by specialists from the supplier MCV Comercial S.A.
According to the minister, they are "modern" vehicles with basic equipment and facilities for installing additional equipment; he also noted that they have adequate autonomy and maintenance support.
After years in which many ambulances incorporated into the Cuban system came from foreign donations, last December, Russia donated three ambulances intended for Havana, Matanzas, and Santiago de Cuba.
In recent years, numerous Cubans have reported prolonged delays in the arrival of ambulances, as well as accidents and mechanical failures in the vehicles that are still in service.
The acquisition for Matanzas represents one of the few state purchases known for this purpose, in contrast to the frequent purchases of buses and cars for tourism and other state entities.
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