Health and Wellness

(a) The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (WCDHW) applies a data-driven and equitable approach to the allocation and deployment of ambulances across districts. The distribution model is guided by population density, service demand, geography, and travel time data, ensuring that both rural and urban communities have access to timely emergency care.

In this context, “waiting time” is understood to mean ambulance response time defined as the time from when the emergency call is received to when the first dispatched medical resource arrives on scene. The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness does not apply a single uniform response target for all ambulance calls, because response times depend on the clinical priority of the incident, geography, operational demand, mission times, and scene safety considerations.

WCDHW EMS response times are influenced by a number of factors, including travel distances in rural areas, high demand and traffic congestion in the metro, prolonged mission times, and safety-related access constraints in some communities.

EMS dispatch operators are trained to be able to triage the patient appropriately as calls are received. Calls are prioritised as either P1 or P2 based on the severity or acuteness of the condition of the patient, rather than the order in which they are received. This ensures that the most acute cases are prioritised.

Between January and March 2026, a total of 112 024 calls are received by the EMS dispatch units in the Western Cape.  

To provide a fairer and more accurate picture of ambulance response times, the median average has been used. This helps to prevent exceptional EMS cases, such as rescue operations, including off-shore rescues, from distorting the overall data, as these incidents often take significantly longer than routine ambulance responses.

When both P1 and P2 categories are included, the average median waiting time between January and March 2026 was: 

While every case is important and our teams strive to service every call as quickly as possible, P1 cases take priority due to their severity. When zeroing in on the average ambulance response times in the metro and in the rural areas for P1 calls:

With regards to red zones, ambulance response times may increase as ambulances may only enter red zones with police escorts.  

1. The Western Cape currently operates functional ambulances, supported by rescue vehicles and specialised response units that together form part of the province’s integrated Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fleet.

To improve coverage in rural areas, WCDHW has implemented the following:

• Continuous fleet renewal and redistribution, with new vehicles allocated to rural districts to ensure reliability and reduced downtime.
• Satellite ambulance stations and deployment points in remote areas to reduce response times and travel distances.
• Centralised call coordination through the EMS Communication Centre, enabling optimal vehicle dispatch based on proximity and severity of the incident.
• Integrated response networks that include aeromedical support, rescue services, and HealthNET transfers to supplement rural coverage.
• Use of real-time tracking and digital monitoring systems to improve fleet management, route optimisation, and dispatch efficiency.

WCDHW continues to collaborate with local municipalities and the Provincial Western Cape Mobility Department to ensure that ambulance coverage remains equitable, efficient, and responsive to community needs, particularly in rural and geographically challenging areas.

However, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness does not solely rely only on a fleet of public ambulances, but on a broader EMS ecosystem comprising of public ambulances and private service providers.

In particular, the department is working with private sector providers around interfacility transfers. The Department’s response to pressures on the platform therefore extends beyond vehicle numbers. It includes ensuring the availability of vehicles, the availability of appropriately qualified staff to crew ambulances across shifts, improvements in dispatch and coordination, and broader efforts to manage mission times and system pressures.