In Yucatan, 600 to 800 emergencies are attended monthly by the Red Cross.
In order to improve coordination with statute authorities and the emergency service provided by the Cruz Roja, Yucatán Delegation, the state coordinator of emergency services, Fernando Estrada Novelo, reported that for the past few weeks he has been in discussions with the Public Security Secretariat (SSP).
He explained that the idea is to improve the attention provided by the state agency and the state institution in cases of emergencies received through the 911 line and to have immediate coverage throughout the state.
“We are coordinating, so that when an emergency call comes in, we can send the ambulance that is closest to the site, regardless of the entity that covers it. We have been working on this since 911 began, however, we had some communication issues and we are now resuming that part”, Estrada Novelo said.
He emphasized that this will also help the Cruz Roja Mexicana in Yucatán to be more responsive and available so that citizens can receive attention when they need it.
He specified that, currently, between 600 to 800 emergency services are covered each month, from accidents, complications due to illnesses, and patient transfers from one clinic to another, to specialized services.
The importance of donations to the Cruz Roja
The demand, he stated, is always high and it is hard to have wide coverage, therefore it is sometimes difficult to attend all the services since the institution does not have a government budget, which subsists on donations.
“This is limiting us to be able to grow, since a new ambulance costs more than one million Mexican pesos, not to mention the equipment and the personnel, so these are very heavy expenses; an emergency service has a cost from one to two thousand Mexican pesos, between gasoline, supplies, personnel salaries, therefore, it is a very important expense for the institution”, he said.
The institution currently has 24 units available to the public.
Finally, Estrada Novelo said that they will also seek to reinforce the radio communication system, especially in the interior of the state, so that the emergency service can be provided more effectively.
“Each agency has its own radio frequency system, however, there is a shared system in which the Cruz Roja has had some problems with the equipment, but we are working on that already”, he concluded.
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