Emergency Services in South Africa Are Overwhelmed - How One Community Created Its Own TC_Africa: SouthAfrica
people. The umbrella term"Hout Bay" describes three sections: Hout Bay, Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu. These sections differ in terms of socioeconomic conditions, ranging from abject poverty to adequate housing and healthcare, and to luxury.
Part of the reason for this is that the area is physically isolated. It is enclosed on three sides by mountains, and by the coastline on the fourth side. Vehicles can only get in and out on three two-lane roads via the mountains. This causes delays in medical emergency response times, especially in peak traffic, tourist season or bad weather. Without traffic, it takes at least 25 minutes to drive into the suburb from the central business district of the city.
It also helps if the community-based response system is embedded within existing community programmes or systems. For instance, the first Hout Bay Volunteer Emergency Medical Service emergency care responders were volunteer members of the National Sea Rescue Institute Station 8 in Hout Bay. These volunteers organised a basic ambulance assistant course through the provincial ambulance college.