Searching for emergencies duck ambulances It poses a risk to wounded people who require transportation or pre-hospital care, and can have fatal consequences. Since February, authorities Mexico City They published a new regulation for the use of vehicles as ambulances. However, more than 100 days after its publication, these vehicles and their crew are engaged in illegal activities.
Jose Antonio Venta, Deputy Relief Coordinator for the Red Cross in Mexico City, said: meter The use of this type of unapproved ambulance is “dangerous in every way”.
“These are erratic, unaccredited ambulances and their staff are inadequate and not qualified to provide emergency medical care. And secondly because they do not have the equipment they should have, from there you put your life at risk and if we add that these ambulances charge you for transportation and take you to hospitals Which she has a deal with because she gave them a piece of wool, well, effectively, we’re running into different risks.
– José Antonio Venta, Deputy Relief Coordinator of the Red Cross in Mexico City.
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The new regulation
On February 21, 2022, the CDMX Official Gazette published Regulations for vehicles used as ambulancesAnd the As well as the technical personnel that provide services in this regard With a period of 90 days until the units meet the requirements.
The said regulation was published motivated by information from the Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) linking ambulance employees “ducks” to illegal acts such as abandoning seriously injured people on public roads, over-collecting, and lack of guidance to hospital units.
Among the measures referred to in the new regulation is that units and their crew members need to be registered with the Health Protection Agency’s ambulance and emergency technician records, as well as have the equipment and training needed for prehospital care.
However, in recent weeks, private ambulances and their crews have been implicated in illegal activities such as the disappearance and murder of Alexis Azamar de Jesus Salome; Or the beatings allegedly suffered by CDMX’s “Grand Ambulances” paramedics during the early hours of June 12.
According to data from the Coordination of Health and Personal Care Services of the Ministry of Health in Mexico City, the capital has an estimated 500 ambulances approved in the public sector, and another 300 private cars, among which there are unused ones that are categorized by individuals to benefit from emergencies, Or those who simply do not have trained personnel or equipment to deal with emergencies.
Unlike “duck” ambulances that usually steal frequencies from the authorities to first reach emergency places, official affiliate cars; Rescue and Emergency Medical Squad (ERUM); Regulatory Center for Medical Emergencies (CRUM); Civil Protection of Mayors and the Mexican Red Cross in coordination with 911 and C5.
“There are private ambulances that can be certified and that are not for the emergency coverage part, what do I mean by that? They don’t have coordination with 911, nor with C5, and that’s where the big difference comes from, we as the Red Cross are an auxiliary force for the government that we have people inside C5 There the call is picked up, the emergency has been caught and they themselves are sending us for emergency coverage.”
– José Antonio Venta, Deputy Relief Coordinator of the Red Cross in Mexico City.
Alexis Azamar case
Cases like that of Alexis Azamar, a 24-year-old student at the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM), who was picked up on May 29 by a private ambulance in the Historic Center and found dead on June 3 in the state of Mexico, are a sampling of the risks posed by cars. Ambulance “duck” for the population.
Just after 4:00 a.m. on May 29, Alexis was found beaten at the intersection of Misioneros and Regina Streets, in the Centro neighborhood of the Cuauhtémoc Mayor’s Office. According to what was revealed from the investigations, a private ambulance belonging to Medical Life transported the young man to the patrol, which found the young man that they would transfer him to Ignacio Regional General Hospital. Zaragoza From ISSSTE .
However, evidence indicates that Alexis was never taken to hospital and, after being missing for about a week, his body was found around 11:30pm on 3 June in Ixtapaluca municipality, Idomex, with gunshot wounds. neck and back.
How to avoid misusing ‘duck’ ambulances?
According to the state’s Mexico City Red Cross relief coordinator, checking what kind of ambulance attends emergencies is essential to avoid abuse, excessive charges or other potential risks.
“Activate the medical service through 911 and as soon as the unit arrives, check what type of unit, if you are not from the Red Cross, CRUM or Civil Protection, it is clearly a special unit that should not cover those in emergencies. Not all of them are from the Red Cross, not All of them are from ERUM, not all are from CRUM, check the logos and names on the ambulance to verify that it is a unit sent directly from the C5″.
– José Antonio Venta, Deputy Relief Coordinator of the Red Cross in Mexico City.
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