People die as they wait for oxygen tanks since October

At least three people have died in Riverlea while waiting since October last year for oxygen tanks to be delivered by a government contractor.

This was according to the Benchmarks Foundation’s community monitor in the area in the west of Johannesburg, Charles van de Merwe.

Riverlea is located in the middle of an area surrounded by old mine dumps.

Load shedding, unexpected power cuts and a backlog in gas tank delivery over the festive season left at least seven people who were dependent on respirators in the community suffering over the festive season.

They were among a group of 17 patients on respirators in the area.

According to Van der Merwe, this was because the company contracted to deliver tanks to that area failed to do so.

Two people were rushed to hospital last week, with one still in a critical condition after not receiving their oxygen tanks for December.

Yesterday, Benchmarks Foundation director David van Wyk said he questioned the company on the late deliveries after visiting the community, and was assured that one of the patients, Jacob Ishmael, 58, would receive his tank by this morning.

According to Van der Merwe, some patients resorted to sharing their respirators with neighbours when the situation became desperate.

“There appears to be a lack of continuity with this service provider and a certain degree of inefficiency. They started to deliver to (Ishmael) in September last year and then, four months later, they claimed he’s not on their system. And you know when you rely on a respirator and you run out of oxygen you can be in real trouble,” said Van der Merwe.

The department of health’s spokesperson Philani Mhlungu yesterday said that no backlog in the delivery of oxygen had been reported in the Johannesburg health district.

Mhlungu said the specific contractor, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, was the only contractor in Johannesburg delivering these oxygen tanks to patients.

Riverlea was one of the communities the Benchmarks Foundation had highlighted as being severely affected by acid mine drainage and exposure to mine dump chemicals.

Ishmael’s respiratory problems arose after mining activity near his home affected his lungs and in September he became dependent on a respirator.

He is one of hundreds of Riverlea residents with lung-related diseases arising from the toxic chemicals and dust permeating the air and water in the area.

The community also has houses that still have asbestos material in their structures, despite the substance being banned in 2008 and a government programme to remove and replace them.

Oxygen tank delay ‘nothing new’

The late delivery of oxygen tanks is not a new problem in Gauteng, according to Democratic Alliance member of the provincial legislature Jack Bloom.

He blamed the problem on lack of cooperation between government and subcontractors, and a lack of monitoring by the Gauteng department of health.

He referred to a case he dealt with last year of a heart patient at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg who committed suicide after waiting for two weeks to receive her oxygen tank.

“I was horrified when I dealt with the case of an elderly patient at Charlotte Maxeke and I even read out a letter e-mailed to me by her sister at the legislature.

“Government has contracts with these oxygen suppliers and I don’t know why they are not working efficiently because there is provision for it in the budget.

“Issues such as late payments to these companies might be involved, but I believe that there should be special arrangements made when patients’ lives are at risk.

“If you’re on oxygen it literally means you can’t breathe and so you can’t expect people to simply wait,” said Bloom.

He added that the problem was not just in Riverlea [in Johannesburg] and there might well be a lot more patients waiting for oxygen across the province.

“I don’t think administratively this is being handled properly. It is essential, even in December, to make arrangements to ensure there is continuity of service.”

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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