Paramedics to get motorcycles

An expanded paramedic motorcycle unit was launched in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The Motorcycle Response Unit (MRU) for Gauteng would soon also be in action in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, Netcare 911 said.

The MRU was tried out as a single unit late last year in Johannesburg.

"During this pilot phase we found the MRU invaluable in time-critical cases such as those where patients suffered a stroke, heart attack or near drowning," said Netcare 911 managing director Tumi Nkosi.

He said the MRU achieved improved response times and was on average 40 percent faster, especially when traffic was gridlocked.

The MRU would comprise five trained paramedics serving the greater Johannesburg and Pretoria CBDs, as well as the surrounding areas.

- Times Live