DELICATE MEDICATION IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT

PIGG’S PEAK – If you spot a hospital orderly with a cooler box travelling on a bus or kombi, he or she is most likely not carry a six-pack of booze but medication.

This is because some orderlies are now said to be transporting medication using public transport due to the shortage of vehicles within health institutions, in particular the Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital. Noteworthy, not every vehicle can transport medication as it has to have a properly insulated cold storage. However, the vehicle designed for this developed a mechanical fault and has been parked at the Central Transport Administration (CTA) garage for nearly five months.

Referral

The vehicle was based at Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital, which is a referral health facility. It services about 10 clinics which include; Ntfonjeni, Horo, Bulandzeni, Hereford, Mangweni just to mention a few. This publication gathered that in areas as far as Mhlangatane, hospital orderlies use funds obtained from the community to board public transport. They then collect medication which is delivered to the respective clinics. Some of the clinic officials use personal vehicles to collect the medication. It was also gathered that the most affected were those who are benefitting from the antiretroviral treatment (ART). The malfunctioning vehicle which was based at the Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital was being used to transport the medication but this is no longer the case. Some of the officers at the hospital said it was illegal to transport medication using public transport. They said some of the medication needed a special kind of cooling that would ensure that the right temperature is maintained. “You can put cold drinks in a cooler box but not certain medication,” said a hospital official.

Another official also lamented that the situation was dire because the medication could be affected when carried in the open such as a public transport vehicle. He said once the medication was affected, it could have dire implications to the patient. The Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health, Dr Vusi Magagula, said he was aware of the challenges relating to transport. However, he said he was not aware that it had reached a level where medication was being transported using public transport vehicles. He said this was not permissible.

Investigate

Dr Magagula said he would follow up to investigate the situation on the ground. He also said the transport challenge was a result of some of the vehicles needing to be serviced. According to some of the officers at Pigg’s Peak Government Hospital, about five vehicles were faulty. The faulty vehicles include one used to ferry medication to clinics, another used for transporting specimens.

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