Forty new Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz ambulances will be released next week in the North West in an effort to improve emergency medical service delivery, the department of health and social development said on Wednesday.

Spokesman Tebogo Lekgethwane said the distribution of the ambulances, worth R17 million, would give preference to rural communities.

"The move was necessitated by the fact that most people in the rural areas don't have adequate transportation to and from the hospitals in cases of emergency," Lekgethwane said.

"The emergency vehicles are of quality and will assist [and] improve our response time. This is a way of improving ordinary people's lives and enhancing service delivery."

He said a shortage of emergency vehicles could hinder transportation of patients such as pregnant women to hospitals and clinics, the seriously sick and those who sustained injuries in road accidents.

MEC Rebecca Kasienyane said: "I warn our EMRS drivers not to get tempted to abuse these vehicles by using them for personal matters out of work like it happened previously.

"We also previously had cases of negligent driving by our drivers and thus costing us more money to repair these vehicles. People must understand that, as a result of these unfortunate incidents sometimes vehicles stay in garages waiting for repair and thus reducing our response time to emergency calls," she said.

The department has procured over 120 ambulances in the past two years, including the ones to be released.

Sapa