A person who—
| (a) |
establishes, operates, extends, manages, controls an Emergency Medical Service, or who changes the ownership of, renames, temporarily or permanently relocates the resources, or alters the services of, an Emergency Medical Service without a licence or without complying with these Regulations; |
| (b) |
is the responsible person for, or is employed by an Emergency Medical Service and who— |
| (i) |
obstructs or refuses to allow an inspection officer or a person acting on the officer's behalf, access to such Emergency Medical Service for the purpose of an inspection in terms of these Regulations; |
| (ii) |
fails to comply with these Regulations; |
| (iii) |
obstructs or prevents access of Emergency Care Personnel to a patient in a situation requiring emergency care; |
| (iv) |
behaves, or allows staff members to behave (in the case of a responsible person), in a manner that may reasonably be considered to be bringing the industry into disrepute; |
| (v) |
conducts clinical procedures that are not within the scope of practice of the relevant Emergency Care Personnel as defined by the Health Professions Council of South Africa; |
| (vi) |
has knowledge of a situation requiring emergency care and wilfully or negligently withholds relevant information from an Emergency Medical Service; |
| (d) |
abuses or summons a service while he or she knows that there is no reason to do so; |
| (e) |
displays on, or fits a vehicle not licensed in terms of these Regulations with— |
| (ii) |
red flashing lights; |
| (iii) |
the "star of life" symbol or other symbols, emblems, logos, heraldic devices, marks, words or phrases in a way associated with Emergency Medical Services; or |
| (iv) |
the phrases, "Paramedic", "Emergency Medical Services", "Emergency Care Practitioner", "ECP", "Advanced Life Support", "ALS", "Intermediate Life Support", "ILS", "Emergency Care Technician", "ECT", "Emergency Care Assistant", "ECA", "ambulance", "Emergency Medical Response ", "Basic Ambulance Assistant", "BAA", "Basic Life Support", "BLS", medic or a derivative thereof; |
| (f) |
displays the word "Paramedic", "Intensive Care Unit", "ICU", or the phrase "Advanced Life Support", "ALS" or "Emergency Care Practitioner", "ECP", medic on a vehicle where such vehicle is not— |
| (i) |
staffed by at least one person registered as a medical practitioner, emergency care practitioner or paramedic registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa; |
| (ii) |
equipped to provide an advanced life support service; |
| (iii) |
licensed in terms of these Regulations as an ambulance, medical response vehicle or medical rescue vehicle; |
| (g) |
impersonates Emergency Care Personnel; or |
| (h) |
obstructs Emergency Care Personnel in the performance of their functions in terms of regulation 28, |
is guilty of an offence and liable, on conviction to a fine not exceeding R500 000.00 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five (5) years or both, such fine and imprisonment for a period not exceeding five (5) years.
Statistics Act, 1999
