Emergency Medical Service Says Public Complaints About Its Drivers Often Concern Private Ambulances
Latvia's Emergency Medical Service says residents confuse private medical transport with its vehicles and complain about the conduct of drivers who do not work for it. The service wants private vehicles to have a distinct livery.
Latvia's Emergency Medical Service (NMPD) is calling for private medical transport providers to use a livery different from that of the service's own vehicles. The service says that, because of the visual similarity, residents mistake private vehicles for NMPD ambulances and turn to the service with complaints about the drivers' behaviour on the road.
Miks Dūcis, head of external communications at NMPD, said the service does not keep precise records of such cases, but it has received several complaints about traffic violations or drivers' conduct. When the information was checked, it repeatedly turned out that the violations were committed by representatives of private companies. According to Dūcis, people see yellow paintwork and the word "Ambulance" and take the vehicle to be an NMPD one, so the state service is blamed for actions it cannot answer for or influence.
Earlier appeal to the ministry
The service had already approached the Ministry of Health, proposing a discussion on distinct markings for private providers' vehicles. The ministry decided at the time to keep the existing arrangement, but NMPD still believes a different livery is needed. Dūcis stressed that NMPD is a state service whose visual identity should be protected in the same way as that of the State Police or the State Fire and Rescue Service.
NMPD says it closely monitors the competence of its drivers: they receive specific training and regular checks, the service uses GPS and video camera monitoring, and it reviews whether the use of beacons and sirens was justified. The service does not know whether or how companies' drivers are monitored.
Example from Ukraine
On 3 November, Rafaels Ciekurs, head of the NMPD brigade support centre "Krasts", also wrote on Facebook about the recognisability of medical transport. He cited a case in Ukraine in which a woman was detained near a National Guard facility after clashes; she had arrived in an ambulance and was wearing medical clothing. She claimed that people were being held illegally in the building. Ukrainian authorities are investigating whether it was a pre-planned Russian provocation.
Ciekurs believes the state should clearly stipulate that only NMPD may use its characteristic combination of livery and markings. In his view, this would reduce the possibility of the service's image being used to mislead people.
