Niković: The first ambulance teams arrived at the scene of the traffic accident near Risan in about 10 to 20 minutes

The Director of the Emergency Medical Service of Montenegro, Vuk Niković, denied claims that the ambulance was late after a serious traffic accident in Lipci, stating that official data shows that the first teams arrived at the scene of the accident in about 10 to 20 minutes.

Appearing on the show "Colors of the Morning" on TV Vijesti, Niković said that the Institute has a GPS system and telemetry in all vehicles, based on which a detailed analysis of the intervention was conducted.

"We have determined that all the injured were treated within an hour, that four ambulance teams were deployed - from Budva, Kotor, Herceg Novi and Nikšić, and that the entire healthcare system of Montenegro was alerted, including the Risan Hospital and the Clinical Center of Montenegro," said Niković.

According to him, the call was received at 1:32 p.m., after which teams were immediately dispatched to the field.

Niković assessed that irresponsible posts on social networks can cause additional anxiety among citizens, especially in situations when families are waiting for information about their loved ones.

Speaking about the system's readiness for the peak of the summer tourist season, he said that the Institute is ready to respond to the increased workload, but that there is still a problem of a lack of medical staff.

"We are currently short between 35 and 40 doctors. We have enough secondary medical staff, and we are expecting new doctors who are completing their education and state exams in the fall," said Niković.

He added that a program is being prepared to introduce paramedics and provide additional training for medical technicians so that they can take over some of the work in emergency medical care.

Niković stated that the Institute currently has around 130 doctors and is organized as a single institution at the state level, which allows neighboring municipalities to help each other in emergency situations.

Speaking about the municipality of Šavnik, he said that the funds and equipment for opening an ambulance unit have been provided, but that the problem is the lack of staff.

"We don't have a single doctor or technician at the labor office. I hope that we will solve that problem during 2027," said Niković.

He pointed out that the vehicle fleet has been significantly renovated.

"We have purchased more than 30 vehicles, and the Ministry of Health has provided a credit line of 1,16 million euros for the purchase of eight more vehicles for the north of Montenegro," he said.

Speaking about publicly available automatic defibrillators, Niković stated that Podgorica currently has six of them, while one has been installed in Plužine.

He announced that the Institute will receive ten more defibrillators, through a donation from the Government of Japan, which should arrive by the end of the month or in September at the latest.

Niković also said that physical and technical security and panic buttons have been introduced in all Emergency Medical Services units, which, he said, has contributed to reducing the number of physical attacks on employees.