Quinton Riddle alleges he has been missing his doctor appointments since last year because the hospital in De Aar keeps telling him there is no operational patient transportation to take him to Kimberley. 

“Every time I am supposed to go to the hospital, I get told stories such as the transport has broken down or something has happened to it,” he adds. 

Riddle could not attend his latest appointment scheduled for 8 March 2023 due to the nationwide protest by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu). However, on the day in question, he was also told that there isn’t any transport available.

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He alleges he has already been informed that there is uncertainty that his next appointment will go as scheduled as there is still no operational patient transportation in the area. “When I went to the hospital to book transport for my next appointment, which is on 3 April 2023, I was told the transport has broken down and they are not sure it will be fixed by the time of the appointment. But they put my name down on the list.” 

He concluded that what is being done to him is unfair because cancer is not an illness to play with, it is not like the flu. “If I had normal flu, I would get medication, but I have cancer and at the hospital in De Aar they do not have the right specialists to treat cancer, hence I have to go to Kimberley.”

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The DA’s councillor in the Emthanjeni Municipality, Ridwaan Smith, says Riddle was diagnosed with skin cancer and has in the interim been advised by hospital personnel to try and keep a growing tumour on his neck clean by using water. Smith alleged that medical personnel in De Aar are of the opinion that his chances of getting to Kimberley via government patient transport are slim. "His is not an isolated case." 

Smith said the situation cannot be left to fester. “Recently, a woman from Britstown bled to death before the department allocated an operational ambulance to the town, following pressure from the DA. Must another patient first die without treatment before the health department can get its patient transport system up and running in De Aar?”

The provincial Department of Health has been sent an enquiry about the above issue for comment.

ALSO READ: Residents bemoan slow response of ambulances in Northern Cape

SABC News has previously reported that residents who rely on public health facilities lament the poor response of ambulances to emergencies and called on the Department of Health to improve their service. Frustrated residents say the emergency response time is poor. There are only three ambulances available for Kimberley's population of over 400 000. Despite the department announcing a major overhaul of its services last year, the prolonged challenges facing the department remain.  

In March of 2022, the department’s MEC, Maruping Lekwene, said they had invested in 92 new vehicles worth over R50 million since 2019. But residents say they are yet to benefit from the overhaul.

OFM News