In an interview yesterday, EMS chief Tom Manglona said private ambulances must comply with the same rules imposed on the government ambulance system.
He said it is necessary for the personnel of any private ambulance service to have the same training and certification provided to the government-run service.
Right now, he said, there are no regulations in place for the private ambulance service company that started operating earlier this year.
Manglona said it is EMS that should regulate private ambulance services instead of the Department of Public Health because these vehicles operate outside the hospital.
“We’re talking about the ambulance, and an ambulance is outside the hospital,” he said, adding that EMS, which is under the fire division of DPS, is the proper agency to regulate it.
Rep. Ralph DLG. Torres, R-Saipan, has introduced a bill that will grant EMS the responsibility of regulating private ambulance services.
The chairman of the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, Torres said the CNMI, for the first time, will have an ambulance service operated by a private entity, and this is why the issue has been brought to the Legislature’s attention.
