For almost two years, the Regional Government has been trying to acquire 12 rescue ambulances, without success.
The company to which, in February 2021, the purchase was awarded, never delivered them. They argued with the difficulties resulting from Covid-19 and, more recently, the war in Ukraine.
Tired of waiting, the Regional Government gave until the end of 2022 to deliver the vehicles, which did not happen.
At the end of February, the Health Secretary proceeded to sanction the contract.
After consulting the market, only one company revealed that it was available to deliver ambulances in the short term, 30 days. Therefore, the Regional Government decided to buy by direct agreement and for the value of 638 thousand euros, not the 12 ambulances, which it wanted, but nine, which is what Auto Ribeiro manages to supply.
As the Regional Government explains “in the DROR-RAM ambulance park, some ambulances have already been in circulation since 2000, with a high mileage, which can jeopardize the requirements of safe driving, not guaranteeing the ideal conditions for the assistance for the victim, nor safety for the respective operators” and such vehicles “have a higher than normal level of wear and tear, due to the hills, and uneven surfaces of the island.
Also several studies reveal that the useful life of the referred vehicles is 8 years,and we can easily verify that all the vehicles referenced above far exceed this lifetime, simultaneously requiring an additional effort in their maintenance or frequent repairs”.