Question NW1143 to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
25 August 2017 - NW1143
Marais, Mr S to ask the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans
(1)Whether the Presidential Medical Unit reports to her as part of the SA Military Health Service; if not, to whom does the Presidential Medical Unit report; if so, (a) from which budget(s) is the specified unit funded, (b)(i) how many staff members are employed in the unit, (ii) where are the staff members stationed and (iii) what are their medical competencies in each case, (c) how many vehicles does the unit have at their disposal and (d) what is the (i) nature and (ii) serviceability of each of these vehicles; (2) whether the drivers of the vehicles have received specialty training for driving at high speed; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. The Presidential Medical Unit (PMU) reports to the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans as part of the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS).
(a) PMU is funded from the budget of the Tertiary Military Health Formation (TMHF) of the South African Military Health Services (SAMHS) for its operations.
(b) (i) PMU has 56 Staff members nationally.
(b)(ii) PMU members are stationed as follows:
- Pretoria – x 42 members
- Cape Town – x 12 members
- Durban – x 2 members
(b)(iii) PMU members Competencies are as follows:
- Medical Officers (Doctors) - [Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery – MBChB] x 6
- Nursing Officers [Professional Nurses] x 3
- Environmental Health Practitioners [National Diploma in Environmental Health] x 5
- Paramedics [National Diploma in Emergency Medical Care] x 4
- Operations and Planning x 3
- Operational Emergency Care Practitioners (OECP) x 24
- Emergency Care Technicians (ECT) x 3
- Logistics x 5
- Drivers x 2
- Clerk x 1
(c) PMU has 80 vehicles at its disposal
(d) The nature and serviceability of the vehicles nationally is as follows:
|
Ser No |
Nature |
Number of Serviceable |
Number of Unserviceable |
total |
|
SUV’s |
23 |
11 |
34 |
|
|
Sedans |
4 |
28 |
32 |
|
|
Bakkies |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
Ambulances |
5 |
7 |
12 |
|
|
Total |
32 |
48 |
80 |
(2) Most of the members of the PMU who are driving the vehicles on
convoy (High speed vehicles) have the following courses:
(a) Driving and Maintenance course from the SANDF.
(b) Advanced Driving Course from the SAPS College.