New ambulances purchased for the nation’s Bombeiros firefighting teams have been grounded as they are 'the wrong colour.'Part of the ambulances are painted red, so the Institute of Transport (IMT) has refused to issue an operational licence, without which the vehicles must remain parked.
Some 14 new ambulances are affected by a bureaucratic bungle that is preventing the vehicles being used for their intended purpose.
The National Medical Emergency Institute has alerted the Institute of Transport as to the "obvious public interest in these new ambulances entering service as soon as possible," adding that it doesn’t matter what an ambulance looks like as long as it can do the job.
Portugal’s Bombeiros League said the situation is tragic and irresponsible.
The colour the Institute of Transport pen-pushers are objecting to is the red section at the rear of each vehicle, painted to identify which Bombeiros station the vehicle is stationed at.
Jaime Marta Soares, president of the Portuguese League of Bombeiros, said the IMT will be held responsible if a patient is left without help due to the ambulance’s colour.
The IMT argues that the situation "accords with current legislation" and says it is working with the INEM "to overcome these constraints."
