Siphakeme .Mnindwa
Wallace Ruzvidzo, Harare Bureau
THE Government-sponsored air ambulance service will from next week be fully operational in Victoria Falls as the roll-out continues across the country.
Zimbabwe received a fleet of 18 Russian-made Ansat and Mi-17 helicopters in 2023 in a deal initiated by President Mnangagwa to ensure that patients in the public health system have access to top-class medical care.
The availing of this service has already seen several lives being saved across the country, with people in rural areas now able to be airlifted promptly to central hospitals.
The air ambulance service has so far been rolled out in Harare, Bulawayo and now Victoria Falls.
Medical personnel comprising four doctors and four nurses have since received training at a local hospital in the resort city — the country’s prime tourist destination.
This latest development will see an improvement in Victoria Falls’ capacity to promptly deal with eventualities that may arise needing the air ambulance services.
President Mnangagwa visited HeliDrive Air Medical facilities in Russia last year and endorsed the roll out of air ambulance services in Zimbabwe.
“This tour has been an eye-opener. The air medical services are critical for Zimbabwe. I give it my blessings,” he said.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Barbara Rwodzi told The Herald yesterday that such services were a pull factor in terms of assuring prospective tourists including high-profile figures of their safety, as they would be guaranteed of being taken care of should the need for the service arise.
“We welcome the initiative, first and foremost, let me thank His Excellency President Mnangagwa for bringing this long term (service), which has positive results for tourism.
“As the tourism sector and Ministry, we appreciate this because we have a lot of tourists who visit Victoria Falls as one of the seven wonders of the world. Many high profile people flock to Victoria Falls but end up thinking twice, so right now, we are working on the construction of a hospital, which has a theatre because we do not have one in Victoria Falls,” said Minister Rwodzi.
“These high profile people put so much importance on their health and security so when they go for holiday to relax they really consider what happens in case of an emergency. They look for services such as the air ambulance so that if anything happens to them they are taken to a hospital that has a theatre, which may be in Harare or Bulawayo. So, these air ambulances that are coming will give comfort to the niche market of clients”.
National Air Ambulance Service Russia Medical Director, Mr Andrei Perevedentcev, said local medical personnel in Victoria Falls had been fully trained and are “ready for action”.
“We have trained eight medical personnel from the local hospital, four doctors and four nurses. So, that was kind of initial training, but it’s good enough to begin operations. Our plan is to relocate a helicopter to Victoria Falls, latest, at the beginning of February.
“So, together with that helicopter, another doctor will come to Victoria Falls and do some kind of additional hands-on training because now that we have trained them on the ground, the next stage is to be trained practically in the helicopter.
“But the local medical personnel is already, let us say, ready for action,” he said.
Mr Perevedentcev went on to explain the operational modalities.
“We have found a helipad inside the hospital. It is quite in a good condition. All we have to do is to remove some debris that surrounds the helipad, and then we will probably put a container there or establish an office nearby.
“But for the beginning of operations, more or less, everything is ready,” he said.
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