Health train staff overwhelmed by demand from local patients
Phelophepa treated residents, trained home-based carers
The 1994 Nelson Mandelaera Phelophepa health train keeps on riding SA’s increasingly decrepit rails, and still the people pour from their homes in townships and hills from far away to find comfort and healing in near-free services.
In recent weeks, people from across the Chris Hani district have arrived in their thousands to renew their faith in the promise of health rights for all.
The 16-coach train has been parked in Komani where patients have appeared and will spend the night sleeping outside, firm in the belief that they will receive legendary care and treatment for eyes, teeth, psychology and general health issues.
As Phelophepa was due to start working in Komani on Monday March 28, patients slept outside on the Sunday in the hopes of being one of the first patients, but some of them ended up waiting the whole day without getting any help as there were a lot of people ahead of them.
Matebezi Kotyi of Ntabethemba, said: “We slept here in an open space, waiting to get inside to get our spectacles.
“There was no shelter to sleep under or something firm to sleep on as we slept on boxes. “We feared being mugged.” “Maybe (supply) some shelter next time?” he said.
Acting Phelophepa train manager, Dr Thabiso Manamela said the train arrived in Komani on Saturday, March 16 and since then the public pressure had been non-stop.
“There are more people than we can accommodate.
“Our target is 1,500 patients per week and we are exceeding that,” he said.
The train was due to depart from Komani yesterday, Wednesday March 27.
Manamela said they would treat more than 200 patients through on-board services and their outreach programme would treat 5,000 people.
Manamela said they appreciated the public support but they were under strain.
“We are here for you but there is only so much capacity.
We are trying our best.”
In a smart move, the train medics trained 20 local community members on homebased care, issuing certificates to those who passed.
Nancy Blandile from Mlungisi Township, speaking on behalf of the trainees, said: “This helped us a lot and these certificates will play a vital role in making us recognised to offer assistance in our communities where we are supposed to intervene.
“We learnt about assisting patients with their treatment and how to handle people who have different diseases.”
They were also equipped with how to help different people in the community.
“We were taught about how to convince people to continue to take their medication,” she said.
“We were also taught that, as home-base caregivers, we have the power to refer people to clinics when we see the need.
“We are able to offer our assistance to social workers in making sure they get to meet people.”
They went to Newrest clinic to plant a garden for patients who needed vegetables.
“We can also go and work in old age homes.
“We thank Phelophepa for empowering us with this certificate as we can now look for work using it,” she said.
The programme started on March 18 and which ended on Friday March 22.
The train provides free services to children under 16, but fees for older patients are a nominal R10 with R5 extra for medication.
Reading spectacles and sunglasses cost patients only R30.
The train works in conjunction with the department of health which supplements services the department offers to the communities.