“Dobrobut” urges Ukrainians to give way to ambulances
The Dobrobut Medical Network, with the support of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, has launched an information campaign “Prolong Your Life! Give way to the ambulance!”, which aims to increase social responsibility and awareness of drivers about the importance of giving way to ambulances.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one in four drivers neglects the rules for letting ambulances pass. In 2022, about 20% of drivers were recorded violating the rules for giving priority to vehicles with special signals.
According to the standard approved by the government in December 2020, ambulances should arrive in Ukrainian cities within 10-20 minutes, depending on the category of call – critical or emergency. Exceeding this timeframe due to traffic, for example, is allowed, but not more than in 25% of critical calls and 15% of emergency calls. However, it is often difficult for crews to comply with these standards, because at busy intersections or in traffic jams, drivers do not give way to ambulances even when they are moving with a siren.
Every minute that an ambulance spends on the road can be critical for the patient it is transporting to the hospital or to whom it is rushing to a call. Losing even one minute can significantly reduce a person’s chances of survival, especially in critical cases.
“There are no “non-serious conditions” in emergency medicine, because each individual disease has a limited time for help. For example, if a stroke is suspected, there is a so-called “window of therapeutic opportunity” when doctors can restore blood flow in the affected vessel. And this time is counted from the moment the symptoms appear, not from the moment the ambulance arrives. This means that, in most cases, if you see an ambulance with special signals on the road, it is carrying a “difficult” patient for whom every minute can be crucial. And for the family that called the ambulance, this wait seems like an eternity. After all, the life of a loved one depends on the timely arrival of an ambulance. So do not forget that if you do not miss the ambulance today, tomorrow it may not have time to get to you,” said Olga Adamenko, head of the emergency department of the Dobrobut medical network.
The beginning of the social campaign and one of its key elements is a video with the slogan: “Go on with your life! Give way to an ambulance!” It makes us think about the fact that the minutes spent by an ambulance in traffic jams can both stop and prolong life.
The initiative was supported, among others, by Multiplex and Oscar cinema chains: they will show the video at the beginning of movie screenings. The media partners are Suspilne, LB.ua, Babel, and Gazeta.ua.
The campaign is planning to make a series of training videos in cooperation with driving schools on the rules of behavior on the road when meeting an ambulance.
