THE delay in dispensing medications to patients at the Wentworth Hospital for the past two days is due to a malfunctioning labelling machine.

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Over 200 patients including those with chronic conditions, are reportedly waiting at the hospital pharmacy to get their medications.

Disgruntled patients and family members collecting medication on their behalf have taken to social media platforms to voice their frustrations and demand answers from hospital management.

The malfunctioning of the machine, which has caused bottlenecks in the proper functioning at the healthcare facility, is used for labelling medication, patients’ medical records, and administrative documents.

A member of the Wentworth Hospital Board, Sidney Govindsamy, confirmed that the labelling machine has not been operational for two days.

“Management has identified the issue. Currently, in the absence of a label machine, all tasks are being done manually, which is causing some delays. I have an engagement with the CEO of the hospital and we agreed that the patients will be informed of the situation,” said Govindsamy.

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The frustration among community members has been mounting as they demand answers from the hospital’s management.

Many patients have described distressing experiences where they felt neglected and inadequately cared for, particularly those arriving in urgent need of medical attention. Long wait times, with some patients waiting for hours to be seen, have further exacerbated the situation.

Elizabeth Smith spent more than 10 hours waiting to get her medication at the hospital pharmacy yesterday (April 29).

“I arrived at the hospital as early as 05:00 to get a queue number. The queue was moving at a snail’s pace, from MOPD to the pharmacy was fully packed. I left the hospital at 15:40.

“The situation of the hospital has gone from bad to worse. My husband who is diabetic has not received his Vivacheck strips for the past seven months,” said Smith.

A member of the Wentworth Hospital Community Committee, Tracey Williams, said patients are still not getting their medications.

“The filing system is a mess. There has been no upliftment whatsoever at the hospital. Yesterday (April 29) there were about 361, and today we understand that there are more patients in and out of the hospital waiting for help. There is also a critical shortage of medication.

“The MEC needs to come back to address the pharmacy manager about the shortage of medication if there is a pool where medications should be collected before it runs out,” said Williams.

Attempts to get comment from the KZN Department of Health were not successful at the time of publishing.

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