The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has described as “unethical and unacceptable” the growing trend of using ambulances to transport corpses within Abuja.
Speaking after the fifth FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Minister Nyesom Wike, Secretary of the Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Dr Adedolapo Fasawe, said the administration would soon procure dedicated hearses for conveying dead bodies.
“In the FCT, we have zero tolerance for an ambulance to carry a corpse. It is not ethical because a living person will lie on that stretcher without decontamination,”
she said.
“We are also looking into buying hearses in the next budget, specifically to carry dead bodies.”
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Fasawe announced the ratification of a contract for 12 brand-new, fully-equipped Toyota Hiace ambulances (2023–2024 models) the first such purchase in nearly nine years. She said the new vehicles meet international standards and will soon be commissioned.
According to her, the ambulances will significantly reduce emergency response time in Abuja, aided by recent road rehabilitations that have eased access to outlying communities.
“A journey that used to take 20 minutes now takes five. With these ambulances, it may take just three minutes to reach a patient,”
Fasawe noted, adding that the 112 emergency line is active and linked to the FCT’s ambulance network.
She disclosed that the administration is working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that calls to 112 are routed directly to the nearest available ambulance from FEMA, NEMSAS, or the FCT Health Services.
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