Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to refer the hon. Member to the reply I made to the Supplementary Question to Parliamentary Question B/257 on 07 April 2026, wherein I indicated that the Beau Plateau link road would be considered for classification as a main road under the Roads Act. The Beau Plateau link road extends from the junction with Forbach Road B42 to the Mapou-Goodlands Road A5 over a length of approximately 3.80 kilometres. Following representations from the Citizens Advice Bureau, members of the public, the District Council of Rivière du Rempart and members of the National Assembly, as well as the Road Development Authority’s technical assessment, the road has been identified as an important link between the Mapou-Goodlands Road A5 and the Forbach Road B42. The road also serves as a designated bus route, further reinforcing its strategic importance. Accordingly, the RDA intends to classify the Beau Plateau link road from its junction with Forbach Road B42 to its junction with the Mapou-Goodlands Road A5 as a main road under the Roads Act. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to highlight that the Government is coming up with the construction of the Motorway M4, which will provide a direct, fast, safe and reliable route linking communities in the eastern region of Mauritius and improving regional connectivity while supporting economic development. The project consists of a dual carriageway of approximately 30 km, extending from Forbach on the M2 Motorway in the north to Belle Air in the east. It will join the Beau Plateau Road B43 at Mapou, near Verger de Labourdonnais and will pass through the villages of Poudre d'Or Hamlett and L'Espérance Trebuchet, intersecting with the Forbach Road B42 through a roundabout. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to part (a) of the question, I am informed that the RDA has already initiated action through its Board for the classification of the road. Thereafter, regulations will be made under section 32 and 74 of the Roads Act to change its status into a classified road and following its publication in the Government Gazette, the road will form part of the classified road network. In the meantime, the RDA will carry out a detailed survey to determine the scope of works, the extent of land to be acquired and prepare the corresponding cost estimates. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, as regards part (b) of the question, the RDA has carried out preliminary investigation to access to the road condition. The investigations revealed the following – (i) major and deep settlement throughout the whole stretch; (ii) longitudinal and lateral cracks; (iii) various potholes formed due to the deterioration of asphalt; (iv) no drainage system and road marking; (v) accident prone zones due to its narrowness of the road; (vi) width of existing road varying from 4.5 metre to 5.2 metre, and (vii) approximately 40% of the road is found in build-up areas. Once the road is classified, the RDA will undertake its upgrading.

Thank you, hon. Minister, for your reply. Will the hon. Minister, in his position, be able to speed up procedures at the RDA so that this road is classified at the earliest possible because we had several accidents in that area and the road quality is degrading day by day?

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, we already have a first batch of roads which the Board has already approved for classification. This road will form a second batch. We are not going to get only one road in the Board. So, we are taking batch by batch. So, it is coming in the next batch to be classified.

Yes, you have one question.

L'honorable ministre a reparlé de l'autoroute M4. Peut-il nous dire si un EIA, mis à jour, sera fait avec des consultations avec les habitants ?

We are taking all necessary steps to do what needs to be done before the road is constructed.

The hon. Third Member for Beau Bassin and Petite Rivière. SAMU – AMBULANCES – MAINTENANCE & REPAIR COSTS (No. /1059) Mr F. Quirin (Third Member for Beau Bassin & Petite Rivière) asked the Minister of Health and Wellness whether, in regard to the SAMU, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain information as to the – (a) number of ambulances at the disposal thereof, indicating the – (i) number thereof, region-wise; (ii) respective acquisition date, and (iii) number thereof currently operational and under repair, if any, respectively (b) total maintenance and repair costs incurred therefor since January 2025 to date, and (c) average response time to emergency calls, region-wise.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank the hon. Member for the question because it concerns a service which is at the heart of emergency care in Mauritius. I wish to state at the outset, that I am fully aware of the challenges facing the SAMU service. However, it is important for the House to understand that the issue is not only of vehicles. A SAMU is not simply an ambulance. It is an advanced life support service requiring a specialised team, proper medical regulation, trained doctors, nursing staff, drivers, equipment maintenance and a dispatch system capable of identifying real emergencies and sending the appropriate response. Therefore, the strengthening of SAMU cannot be done by merely buying more vehicles. Procurement of SAMU ambulances must go hand in hand with recruitment, training and retention of specialised personnel. Otherwise, vehicles may be available, but teams may not be available to operate them safely on a 24-hour basis. A SAMU team normally consists of one SAMU doctor, two nursing staff and one driver. The present human resource position includes 27 emergency physicians, 30 post graduate doctors under training who are expected to complete in June 2027, 72 nursing personnel deployed nationally within SAMU and ambulance services, 24 permanenciers and 23 drivers. With the present human resource available, it is not possible to add additional SAMU teams on a 24-hour basis without proper recruitment and training. Staff are already performing significant overtime to maintain existing coverage. However, my Ministry is working towards the setting up of an additional SAMU team. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is also important to make a distinction between SAMU ambulances and ordinary ambulances. A SAMU ambulance is an advanced life support ambulance staffed by trained personnel and used for life threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest, severe respiratory distress, coma, serious road traffic accidents, major trauma and the transfer of critically ill patients. An ordinary ambulance is mainly used for non-urgent transport including inter-hospital transfer, transport of patients for haemodialysis and transport of patients with physical impairments for appointments. In exceptional circumstances where SAMU is not immediately available, an ordinary ambulance may be used to ensure that the patient reaches hospital rapidly. In regard to part a (i) and (ii) of the question, I am tabling the information pertaining to the allocation of SAMU region wise and the acquisition dates. With regard to part a (iii) of the question, I am informed that presently the SAMU fleet consists of 15 vehicles, out of which12 are operational and three are under repair. It is worth noting that an additional SAMU is expected to be delivered during the course of this month, thus increasing the fleet to 16 vehicles. The newly acquired vehicle will be allocated to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital. With regard to part (b) of the question, I am informed that the total cost incurred from January 2025 to date for maintenance and repairs of 15 SAMU vehicles amounts to Rs3,537,040.60. With regard to part (c) of the question, I am informed that the average national response time to emergency calls is around 13 to 17 minutes, depending on the distance from the hospital or base station, traffic, weather conditions, call volume, dispatch efficiency and fleet availability. The SAMU is a national service, and a SAMU ambulance from one region may be dispatched to another region if this is the most appropriate operational response. We do not, therefore, calculate response time regionally. The demand for ambulance and SAMU services has increased substantially, not only for life-threatening emergencies, but also for other urgent requests. However, this increase in demand has not always been matched by the corresponding increase in capacity. Historically, the SAMU service increased from around five teams between 1997 and 2010 to seven teams between 2010 to 2014, and then to around 10 teams and as at now, there are 11 SAMU teams. Since November 2024, my Ministry has implemented the renewal policy of the fleet of vehicles, including both SAMU and other ambulances as priority is being given to emergency response vehicles to patient transport vehicles after years of ageing fleet problems. Accordingly, ambulances and SAMUs have been acquired as follows – • For financial year 2024-2025, five ordinary ambulances; • For 2025-2026, four SAMU vehicles; • For the financial year 2026-2027, my Ministry has planned to acquire two SAMU vehicles and four ordinary ambulances. In conclusion, I wish to reassure the House that priority is being given to the procurement of new SAMU vehicles as well as ordinary ambulances, the repair and maintenance of existing fleet, recruitment and training of specialised personnel, expansion of SAMU teams in a safe, sustainable manner, and the consideration of formalising collaboration with Mauritius Fire and Rescue Services, similarly to what is done in other countries. The objective is clear: to ensure that when a Mauritian citizen faces a real medical emergency, the system is capable of responding rapidly, professionally and safely.

M. le président, l'honorable ministre ne convient-il pas que le renforcement des effectifs est tout aussi important que l'acquisition de nouvelles ambulances pour améliorer le temps de réponse aux urgences ?

This is what I have entailed that the number of SAMU vehicles are increasing. At the same time, we are trying to increase the number of personnel as well. Actually, there are 30 doctors who are being trained for that purpose. You cannot put any doctor, like those who are working in the hospitals. They need to have additional training for that purpose. That is being undertaken at Mauritius Institute of Health (MIH) and at the same time with Bordeaux University.

M. le président, j'ai une dernière question avec votre permission. L’honorable ministre a parlé de formation. De ce fait, peut-on savoir quelle formation est dispensée au personnel du SAMU afin de garantir une prise en charge conforme aux meilleures pratiques en médecine d’urgence ?

Those emergency doctors, I am told, are supposed to be properly fit in order to handle dangerous cases like somebody suffering from cardiac arrest, or someone has faced a dangerous accident. In such situation, the doctor usually is specialised for that purpose. These are the SAMU doctors who are also working in our trauma centre as well. So, they have a different type of training to deal with cases urgently and immediately.

Hon. Members, the Table have been advised that the following PQs have been withdrawn: B/1060, B/1067 and B/1069. ILLEGAL WATER CONNECTIONS – CASES DETECTED – FINES COLLECTED