#Letter: Saluting compassionate clinic angel

Ruth Volker of Ballito writes:

If you ever collected medicine at the Ballito government clinic, you accepted a two- to four-hour waiting time was a possibility.

This is caused by a handful of nursing staff who struggle to process the large number of people to be seen in one day.

Covid screening before entering has added about 45 minutes to the waiting time.

But there was one volunteer, Jasmine Bissesar, who I would like to thank personally.

Our angel in disguise, she meant so much to all the people who collected their medication. She just made our lives so much easier.

She knew all of us patients by name, called us if we had not collected our medication and reprimanded us if we were not taking our illnesses seriously.

I knew that if Jasmine was there my waiting time would be a maximum of 30 minutes. Often she restored our hope in the government clinic system.

For the past two months since she has not been there we do much waiting and we chat and tell stories about how Jasmine did such an amazing job.

You are missed and we trust that you have a little bit more time for yourself these days.

Ed – After making enquires at the Ballito Clinic I learned that Jasmine has accepted a position as a community health worker locally.