Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Paula Chester-Cumberbatch has said another step has been made to improve response times and service delivery with the purchase of two new ambulances.

The ambulances were dedicated during a short ceremony held yesterday at the Peebles Hospital. 

Mrs. Paula Chester-Cumberbatch said that as a provider of health care services, the BVIHSA is required and expected to respond to emergencies in a prompt and efficient manner.  “The addition of these two ambulances will increase our fleet to five and puts us in a better position to improve response times and implement a proper maintenance programme for the fleet,” she said.

The purchase of the vehicles was made possible in part by a public private partnership with Colonial Insurance BVI who donated one of the ambulances.

General Manager of Colonial BVI, Mr. Carlton O’Neal said the donation was made in memory of former Chief Executive Officer Mr. Alan Peacock who was responsible for making the decision to donate the ambulance.

“Mr. Peacock was the CEO for over 40 years and was committed to the wellbeing of the community,” Mr. O’Neal said, adding, “After the recent hurricanes he made it a priority for Colonial to assist with rebuilding the BVI. It is with great honour that we donate this ambulance to you today.”

Meanwhile, Minister for Health and Social Development Hon. Ronnie W. Skelton commended Colonial for their generous contribution towards strengthening health services delivery.  He made a plea for the private sector to continue to partner with the Health Services Authority in its effort to provide optimum health services to the people of the Virgin Islands.

The purchase of the ambulances is a demonstration of the resilience of the Health Services Authority and their commitment to improving service delivery.