The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape calls on the Health Department to urgently restore patient transport services and to develop hospital services in and around Namaqualand.
Currently patients are being transported over long distances and across districts to get lifesaving medical care. This comes as just one out of five Patient Transport Vehicles (PTV) is currently operational to service in the entire Namaqualand district.
Lifesaving medical treatment, including cancer treatment and surgery, is being put on ice for patients waiting to be transported to the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe hospital in Kimberley, for which there is one transporter operating, and the Dr Harry Surtie Hospital in Upington, for which no transporter is currently available. This is ironic given that the Upington hospital was initially developed with the intention of shortening the distance to specialist medical care, from the 800 kilometers it takes to drive from Namaqualand to Kimberley, to the 400 kilometers it takes to reach Upington.
Engagements with a number of patients in Nababeep, Okiep, Bergsig and Concordia over the past week confirmed this. Three different ladies whom I spoke to were meant to be transported to Upington for their first appointment in August last year already. There was no transport available and the date shifted to 17 January 2022. It was then postponed until 11 May and then again until 17 May, and the patients are still waiting.
Another very sick patient, who is suffering from prostate cancer, and is in constant pain, is also waiting to finally get to Robert Mangaliso Hospital. To make matters worse, the local clinic is out of stock of the medication that he needs.
The last-minute cancellation of these medical trips is causing great inconvenience and anxiety to patients, who are losing hope. They cannot even be assured that they will live long enough to be treated.
Last year, between April and May, the department reported that 20 Patient Transport Vehicles (PTV) in the province were not operational. The situation has since worsened and reports show that from October to at least March this year, 28 PTVs have not been operational. At the same time, care in the district remains sub-optimal, with many patients rather opting to travel to the Western Cape than visiting the hospital in Springbok.
In effect, people from all over Namaqualand are suffering, as the situation remains intolerable, despite commitments by the Health Department to address both hospital services and patient transport.
The situation must not be allowed to deteriorate any further.
In the short term, the department must urgently work to improve the turn-around time of repairs for PTVs, establish a vehicle maintenance plan and a vehicles replacement plan to guide the procurement of new vehicles, and appoint more Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff to ensure that there are more PTVs and ambulances on the road, at any given time.
At the same time, there must be a greater focus towards better capacitating the district hospital in Namaqualand and also, in particular, the regional Dr Harry Surtie Hospital in Upington by way of the appointment of more doctors and specialists. This is necessary to curb unnecessary travelling all the way to Kimberley for services that should be on offer in Upington.
Taking the sick and vulnerable off waiting lists, and off our roads and putting them in hospital beds, where they can access quality health care, must be a priority.