Vaifanua lawmaker, Lavea Fatulegae’e Palepoi Mauga has said outright that lack of an ambulance in the Eastern District has cost the life of Pediatrician Fuata Dr Tagiiline Iatala.
Lavea said on House floor today he has been nagging to the decision makers to place an Emergency Medical Service on the eastern side of the island but his pleas have fallen on death ears.
Expressing his sadness, he remarked that the absence of an EMS vehicle was a factor in the passing of Dr. I’atala, one of the territory’s longest serving doctors.
Lavea informed the House that relatives of Dr. Iatala told him it took a long while for an ambulance to arrive at the doctor’s home in Amouli.
He said family members are of the opinion Dr. I’atala’s life could have been saved had EMS arrived earlier.
Dr. I’atala had been sick with the flu but continued to work due to the shortage of doctors in the Pediatric Division.
Lavea expressed his sadness that his pleas to the Chairman of the Health Committee for an ambulance to serve the Eastern District have been ignored, and now a good doctor has died because an ambulance took a long time to come from Fagaalu to Amouli to transport him to LBJ.
There was no response from the Chairman of the House Health Committee, Vesi Fautanu Jr.
