Needles, ARV’s dumped
A fleeing suspect led police and community members to a discovery of needles, antiretroviral (ARV) medicine, vaccines and other medicine in an open garage close to the Provincial Hospital.
A person who requested to remain anonymous, said that they spotted two suspects walking between the parked cars of marathon participants behind the Steve Tshwete Municipality on Saturday morning. They were tasked with patrolling the cars whilst the marathon was underway.
The men began to run when they were approached and patrol members followed one who fled in the direction of the hospital. He ran down De Villiers Street and disappeared into a yard through an open gate with patrol members hot on his heels.
The appearance of the house, directly opposite the hospital entrance, gave the impression that it was deserted. Weeds that grew hip height and shopping trolleys which stood scattered in the yard, some with rotten food inside, reminded of the many vacant houses in Middelburg used as shelter by the homeless and drug addicts.
The grounds were searched for the suspect. A garage door that stood ajar, led to the discovery of the medicine.
“It could have been anyone that walked through that door. There were needles and all sorts of stuff lying around. It will be heaven for any drug addict who discovers this. And what happens if a child comes in here?” a source on the scene said.
A man who did not want to give his name, surfaced from the house a while later. He said that the garage was used as a storeroom but could not explain why the door was left unlocked and how the medicine, he says was packed away in a cupboard, ended up strewn all over the floor.
The majority of the medicine was expired vaccines, some as far back as 2011. ARV’s known to be smoked by drug addicts and prescription medicine with patient names as well as medicine that only expires in November 2016 were also found.
It was established that Primary Health Care Services, who runs clinics in the Steve Tshwete Municipality district, used the house as their offices and left behind the syringes and expired medicine when they moved to their premises in Lylian Ngoyi Street.
Even if the medicine was left behind, they were supposed to be in sealed containers behind locked doors. Clinics have the responsibility to dispose of expired medicine which should be destroyed and not stored.
Hospital nurses that currently occupy the house, failed to alert their superiors of the health hazard. Except for the “free-for-all” medicine picnic, nine steel trolleys were counted on the premises.
Shoprite branch manager, Oscar Mojala, said that people who steal trolleys cost them thousands of Rand. A contractor is employed to try and retrieve stolen trolleys.
A trolley is said to cost R1 000 per unit, meaning that on the premises of the house occupied by nurses, the value of the trolleys amount to R9 000. One of the trolleys was used to store files of the clinic in.
“People must be made aware that we will open cases of theft against culprits and that you can be arrested if we find you stealing our trolleys,” Mr Mojala warned.
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The person in charge of primary health care in the Steve Tshwete municipal district, Margaret Skhosana, said that she is not allowed to respond to media questions and referred the Middelburg Observer to the provincial office.
Head of communications, Dumisane Malamule could not be reached. Media liaison officer, Christopher Nobela, promised to respond to questions via email but did not do so at the time of going to press.
