Loncar Delivers 20 Ambulances, Belgrade Gets Four

Does a new ambulance actually mean a faster arrival at a patient’s door? The Health Ministry says it does, and backs that up with a number: Belgrade’s Emergency Medical Services has received four new ambulances, with ten more due by the end of the year.

Caretaker Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar handed the keys to 20 ambulances to representatives of healthcare institutions across Serbia on Thursday, September 24, in front of the Palace of Serbia. This marks the first time the state has acquired ambulances through a lease rather than paying for them outright, and another 30 vehicles are due to arrive in the coming weeks. A total of 148 ambulances have been contracted for this year and next.

In brief

• 20 vehicles handed over on September 24, Belgrade’s Emergency Medical Services got 4
• another 30 vehicles arrive in the coming weeks
• 148 vehicles contracted in total, leased for the first time
• 619 million dinars including VAT already allocated for 50 of the vehicles
• close to 2 billion dinars will be spent on all 148 vehicles

Who received the new vehicles

Besides Belgrade’s Emergency Medical Services, which took delivery of four vehicles, the following institutions also received ambulances on September 24:

• Kraljevo General Hospital, one vehicle
• the health centers in Vranje, Zajecar, Arandjelovac and Loznica, one vehicle each
• the Emergency Medical Services in Kragujevac and Nis, one vehicle each
• the health centers in Merosina, Raca, Smederevska Palanka, Leban, Barajevo, Bogatic and Vladicin Han, one vehicle each
• Grocka Health Center, two vehicles

The make and model of the vehicles were not disclosed in any statement.

Why now, and why leasing

Loncar explained that procuring ambulances takes time because the vehicles are first ordered from the manufacturer and only then fitted out with medical equipment, which is why this batch of 20 has arrived now while the rest are still being fitted out in workshops.

“This is a mobile hospital that saves human lives,” Loncar said in front of the Palace of Serbia.

Unlike past practice, when the state paid for ambulances outright and in full, these 148 vehicles are being acquired through a lease. According to the minister, the price includes insurance, comprehensive coverage, regular servicing and a warranty, and if a vehicle breaks down while under lease, the healthcare institution receives a replacement.

The minister compared the new vehicles to the state he says he found in the past.

“We had ambulances in such a state of decay that their doors wouldn’t even close,” Loncar said.

He also said that, unlike in earlier tender scandals, all the new vehicles are registered, certified and equipped, and go into service starting today.

Belgrade gets ten more vehicles

For Belgrade’s Emergency Medical Services, which received four vehicles today and will get ten more in the coming weeks, Loncar stressed that the new vehicles matter for the service’s everyday work, since beyond emergency call-outs it also transports patients to dialysis or home after hospital treatment.

“When was the last time you heard of an ambulance in Belgrade not arriving on time?” Loncar asked.

The minister said that a total of 306 ambulances have been handed out during his time in office, counting these new ones. The state has allocated 619 million dinars including VAT for 50 of the vehicles in the current procurement, and once all 148 are delivered, the total cost will come to close to 2 billion dinars.

This particular leased-ambulance procurement, and the breakdown of vehicles by healthcare institution, had not previously been reported.