Eastern Cape to receive 197 ambulances amid ongoing emergency medical services crisis

The Eastern Cape health department is set to receive 197 new ambulances by March 2027, including 26 delivered on September 4, 2026, to address its severe emergency medical services crisis. However, Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa conceded this will not solve the shortage, as the province requires 600 operational vehicles but currently has only 192 active out of 353, with 161 grounded due to an ageing fleet.

Eastern Cape ambulance delivery programme

• ▪The Eastern Cape provincial health department is scheduled to receive 197 new ambulances by the end of March 2027 to replace its ageing fleet.
• ▪The Eastern Cape province received 26 new ambulances on September 4, 2026, as part of an ongoing fleet replacement programme.

Emergency medical services fleet crisis

• ▪The Eastern Cape emergency medical services face an ongoing crisis driven by an ageing and increasingly unreliable vehicle fleet.
• ▪Out of 353 total ambulances in the Eastern Cape, 161 vehicles are currently grounded and only 192 are operational.

Provincial ambulance capacity shortfall

• ▪Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa stated that the province currently has about 400 ambulances, which includes grounded vehicles.
• ▪The Eastern Cape province requires approximately 600 operational ambulances to run its emergency medical services at full capacity.

Official response to EMS challenges

• ▪Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa conceded that the planned delivery of 197 ambulances will not fully resolve the provincial emergency medical services crisis.
• ▪Eastern Cape Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa appealed to local communities for patience, stating that the provincial health department is doing its best to address the crisis.

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