BY: The Communication and Outreach Team

of the National Emergency Medical Service.

 

The National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) is an emergency health program designed and implemented by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), to strengthen the National ambulance referrals system in the country by providing free pre-hospital care for obstetric, pediatric, trauma and other medical emergencies.

The National Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) is a national network of ambulances geospatially positioned nationwide across the 16 districts in Sierra Leone. It is coordinated through a central operation Center to provide free-of-charge aid and emergency medical assistance in the pre-hospital setting, involving personnel trained in rescue, stabilization, and transportation of traumatic and medical emergencies.

The National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) has successfully received 90,841 calls, attending to 84,529 missions and 70,310 referrals. The calls, missions, and referrals conducted have drastically helped in mitigating Obstetric and Pediatric cases. The dedicated ambulance operations of the National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) have significantly contributed to the reduction of Maternal mortality deaths nationwide.

Over the years of existence, NEMS has successfully triaged more than 40,000 Obstetrics (Pregnant women) and more than 15,000 Pediatrics (child care) cases with 60% hospital admissions.

The National Emergency Services (NEMS) has thrived to respond to national disasters and global epidemics. The establishment of the National Emergency Medical Service was done shortly after the ‘unprecedented’ Ebola outbreak in West Africa Sierra Leone between 2014 and 2015. In 2020, NEMS was in active service and contributed immensely towards combating the Covid-19 outbreak in Sierra Leone. Staff, especially the Paramedics and drivers risked their lives to ensure Specimens and affected persons with COVID-19 reach holding centers for adequate medical treatment.

In 2021, NEMS also supported saving victims affected by the fuel tank explosion at Wellington, PMB Junction. Fortunately, the training department had just completed training for Trainers (TOT) on Disaster Management (DM), and on Managing Mass casualty Incidents (MMCI). The Trainers, Paramedics, Drivers, and a few administrative staff were able to respond adequately to help save lives.‘To save life Promptly and Professionally’ is the main mission of NEMS and it has been ‘quietly’ achieving its aim to the public.

Like many other institutions, NEMS has been battling with a series of challenges. With a robotic and like-minded team, with a dogged determination leadership, those challenges are now being ‘gradually’ addressed.

Challenges ranged from inadequate financing to late disbursements of funds that led to frequent delays in the payment of salaries, which culminated in the cumulative backlogs of salaries. The operational challenges are engendered by an aging fleet requiring regular and routinized maintenance, coupled with the high fuel demand required to translate missions into referrals.

All of these challenges have been frowned upon by not only the beneficiaries of the service but also by staff and our upstream stakeholders. Beneficiaries who have been benefiting from this service, hope and pray for its continuity in their various communities.

With the astute leadership of the National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS), backed and complemented by the dedication, support and sacrifices of its staff, one can (with cautious optimism) say that NEMS has ‘weathered the storm’. The National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) is now preparing itself to fulfill its aspirations to become the Center of Excellence (CoE) in the health system services delivery ecosystem.

Amid these bitter-sweet moments, the NEMS is committed to providing an unwavering first-ever ‘FREE’- ambulance service to all within Sierra Leone.

It is against this background that the Chief Executive Officer, the Management and the Staff of the National Emergency Medical Service (NEMS) entreat and beseech you all to join hands together in its bid to rejuvenate the ‘Service’.