SANCA Lowveld: The system is failing patients
Lowvelder has been reporting on the problem with detox centres since 2017.
MBOMBELA – Having enough courage to turn your life around only to have the system let you down is horrific. This is the harsh reality that Sanca’s Marina Erasmus is confronted with almost daily.
She has been struggling with the intake of patients for detox purposes at Themba Hospital since March. According to her, this is currently the only facility that does detoxification for addicts wanting to go to Swartfontein Rehabilitation Centre.
“Before someone can be admitted to Swartfontein, they need to be fully detoxed. We usually book a bed for them at Themba, but recently the hospital has started giving people who are not from the KaBokweni area the boot.”
According to Erasmus other hospitals in the Lowveld are no longer equipped to do detoxification or refuse to do it because of valid safety concerns or being training hospitals.
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“Since 2015 a number of verbal promises have been made by representatives of the Department of Health at stakeholder meetings. Nothing happened,” a very frustrated Erasmus said. She calls this process a “lengthy and impractical challenge for service users”.
Erasmus said the solution is for Swartfontein to have its own detoxification centre, as it had in the past.The spokesman for health, Dumisani Malamule, denied all of these allegations and said that detoxification services in the Lowveld are provided in Themba, Sabie and Barberton hospitals.
“Patients have the right to access any public health facility of their choice for treatment. If there are people who have been turned away, they can inform the department so that the concern can be dealt with. Detoxification medication is available in the designated hospitals as listed above.”
On the allegation that security at Themba Hospital is not up to scratch, Malamule said that the department will investigate. “Recovery from addiction requires support from the family and community, and the department will look into encouraging families and friends to support the recovery process of the patients.”
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