Transport woes for South Coast hospital patients
A bus leaves Port Shepstone at 06:00 and returns at 18:00, making it difficult for patients who live in outlying areas to get home.
Bongani Lushaba from Umzumbe, who regularly uses transport provided by the Department of Health for chemotherapy at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital, is upset that he has to wait for hours after his treatment before he can return home.
He said at times he had to wait for more than six hours for transport from Durban to Port Shepstone. Other patients who receive treatment at other public hospitals around Durban face a similar predicament.
According to Lushaba, the situation is unbearable because some patients travel from Harding, KwaNzimakwe and surrounding areas and not having reliable transport to return home makes things difficult.
“Some patients get discharged from the hospital at 08:00 with the hope of getting transport home at midday, but all in vain. Some leave Port Shepstone at 06:00 to Durban and only return at 18:00. Being a patient who has travelled this journey from 2020 the changes have affected me. Previously, a bus left Durban at 11:00 with patients who had been discharged or had finished treatment for the day. I don’t know what happened to that bus because now we have to wait for the afternoon one which comes at 16:00 or 17:00.”
Lushaba said that with just the afternoon bus, it now means patients who have been discharged and those who have undergone chemotherapy would have to sit in pain on benches for hours.
He added that the 11:00 bus made things easy for early discharged patients to return home on time.
He also complained that the bus deviates to GJ Crookes Hospital in Scottburgh and is not allowed to stop enroute to Port Shepstone.
The bus drops off patients at Port Shepstone Regional Hospital.
“As a patient I have had to walk in the dark from Port Shepstone Hospital to the taxi rank and this is after I have received chemotherapy.”
Furthermore he added that it’s not safe for patients to walk at night.
The Department of Health was contacted for comment, but none was received at the time of going to press.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
