NTSA faulted for not equipping ambulance for accident victims

First responders use vehicles belonging to well-wishers and Kenya Red Cross Society recently stationed at Salgaa. [Photo: Courtesy]

National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officials have been accused of inefficiency in handling accident victims at accident-prone spots on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

The authority is said to have failed to utilise an ambulance that was stationed at Salgaa three years ago to help offer services at scenes of accidents.

The ambulance was expected to provide quick response to accidents on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.

Unfortunately, the ambulance is never deployed to scenes of accidents whenever they occur as happened yesterday, raising questions on its whereabouts.

First responders use vehicles belonging to well-wishers and Kenya Red Cross Society recently stationed at Salgaa.

“We have never seen the NTSA ambulance. We sometimes depend on personal vehicles to take casualties to hospital,” said a first responder.

According to a police officer at the station who requested anonymity, the ambulance operates like any other police enforcement vehicle.

The officer said the ambulance has never been used since it was brought three years ago because it is not fully equipped.

“The ambulance is not operational because of lack of equipment. It does not have an equipment,” said the officer.

Contacted, Rift Valley NTSA regional manager Aden Millah confirmed that a vehicle brought by the department of transport three years ago was expected to be equipped and operate like an ambulance, a plan that was never a success.

“There is no NTSA ambulance stationed at Salgaa neither entire county. What we have is an ordinary vehicle that was to be equipped to guarantee operation like ambulance,” he said.

He added that the vehicle is currently used by NTSA motor vehicle instructor- the instructor reports at scene of an accident whenever an accident happens.