Run by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Service

A donation of 4 eRanger Ambulances was made by St Thomas of Canterbury Parish, Woodford Green to the hospital in – 2006.

Operational Location and Context: Luwi Mission Hospital lies in the North West Province of Zambia some 220km from the provincial capital town of Solwezi. Without a doctor at the hospital, the staff manage to operate most departments except an operating theatre, x-ray, dental and psychotherapy.

The hospital has a large catchment area yet the hospital is limited to only one ambulance and transport infrastructure between the populations served by the hospital and the hospital itself is weak making outreach medical programs and hospital access difficult.

eRanger Introduction: Having completed driver and maintenance training for 2 drivers to each eRanger Ambulance, Luwi hospital conducted extensive Information and Education (IEC) sessions amongst all their catchment communities to sensitise them to the provision and availability of the four eRanger Ambulances which became operational at the end of September 2007.

Through October 2007 to the end of January 2008, Luwi Hospital recorded 63 patients referred to the hospital by the eRanger Ambulances – an average of 3.7 journeys made with an eRanger Ambulance per week. The most common cause for medical referral during this time was Malaria; most likely very prevalent during this time as it is the rainy season. Other medical conditions, such as obstetric complications, pneumonia, TB, trauma and childhood diarrhoea have also been frequent causes for the eRanger Ambulance’s use.

During the first 17 weeks of eRanger Ambulance operations, the four vehicles covered over 440 km in transporting patients to Luwi Hospital. Now that the rainy season has passed and roads are no longer flooded, Luwi Hospital intends to extend the Ambulance service to those communities served by the hospital but in excess of 20 km from its location.