21/05/2026
Proud to stand alongside the incredible teams who worked tirelessly to keep this patient alive. 🚑🤝
This case is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when volunteer responders, private EMS, hospitals, and dispatch networks collaborate seamlessly under pressure. Thank you to every responder and partner involved for your dedication to patient care when it mattered most.
A Night of Teamwork That Saved a Life 🚑❤️
On the evening of 17 May 2026, at approximately 21:21, Pretoria Volunteer Emergency Services (PVES) responded to a serious pedestrian-vehicle accident in Kilnerpark, Pretoria. What unfolded over the next several hours is a powerful reminder of what's possible when emergency services join hands for a single purpose: keeping a patient alive.
On arrival, PVES Responders and EST found an adult patient in an extremely critical condition (Priority 1, Code Red) after allegedly being struck by a vehicle. The injuries were severe: a major traumatic head injury, suspected fractured arm, compromised breathing, critically low blood pressure, and a GCS of 3/15.
This was a patient who needed every ounce of skill, every available resource, and every helping hand we could find. And that's exactly what showed up.
A beautiful collaboration in action 🤝
The team immediately established bilateral IV access, managed bleeding, and began stabilisation. When the PVES Critical Care Practitioner (CCP) arrived, advanced interventions kicked in — life-saving medications, IV infusions, temperature management with an blanket, and advanced airway management, with the patient eventually placed on artificial ventilation via endotracheal intubation to support his breathing.
When extended transport was needed, AURA SA stepped in beautifully and authorised a private Emergency Medical Solutions (EMS) ambulance to assist — with PVES personnel on board to continue critical care throughout the journey. This kind of coordination between volunteer services, private partners, and dispatch networks is exactly what saves lives in moments like these.
For approximately three hours, our CCP and the EMS ALS team continued uninterrupted, hospital-level care inside the ambulance — monitoring, ventilating, medicating, and fighting for this patient every single minute.
Pretoria Academic Hospital then graciously assisted by stabilising the patient further and replenishing our oxygen and medication supplies — a gesture we are deeply grateful for. Shortly after, Kalafong Hospital accepted the patient for definitive treatment at approximately 01:00, where the trauma team took over his ongoing care.
Gratitude all around 🙏
To everyone who played a role in this rescue — PVES Responders, AURA SA, Emergency Medical Solutions, Pretoria Academic Hospital, and Kalafong Hospital — thank you. Every system has pressures, and every team is doing the best they can with what they have. Last night was proof that when we work together, those pressures become shared, and patients benefit.
A special shoutout to our sponsors Ecomed, Zebra Medical, Butterfly Network, Inc, and to IER Integrated Emergency Response and AURA SA for the ongoing support that makes nights like these possible.
This is what community emergency care looks like. This is what teamwork looks like. And this is why we keep showing up.
