Johannesburg - The closure of clinics in the Vaal area has sparked fears among patients living with HIV and other chronic illness that they could be vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 because they are unable to access their medication, including antiretrovirals (ARVs).
In March, the medical professionals warned that HIV-positive people not on treatment and people with conditions such as hypertension and diabetes could be among the worst affected if cases of Covid-19 spread in South Africa.
According to Statistics SA, the country has more than 7 million people living with HIV/Aids, a virus that seriously weakens a person’s immune system.
The closure of clinics such as Helga Kuhn, Levai Mbatha and Stretford, forced many patients to return home without receiving help.
Helga Kuhn closed two weeks ago, and Levai Mbatha closed last week. Stretford closed this week following a service delivery protest.
Last week, Rosinna Molete (not her real name), a patient who is under treatment for HIV, was referred to Mpumelelo Primary Health Clinic in Evaton North because of the closure of clinics in the Vaal.
But the security officers at Mpumelelo told her that she would not receive help because she was not from the area, said Molete.
“I then went back to Helga Kuhn to tell them how I was turned away, and they told me that I don’t have a choice but to buy the medication at the pharmacy. This is sad because some of us are unemployed. If things continue to be like this, then we might see people dying from HIV, TB and diabetes, not Covid-19,” she said.
Molete lamented that the situation has shown that the government doesn’t care about the poor.
“If the government really cared, they would have made a plan where people can access their treatment. They knew that the situation would
be like this. Why didn’t they come with a plan for people to keep receiving their medication?” asked the visibly distressed Molete.
On Tuesday, in his weekly letter, President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed that the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, such as blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, asthma and chronic respiratory disease, were also more vulnerable to developing severe complications and dying from Covid-19.
“This is a significant concern in a country such as ours that also
has a high prevalence of HIV and tuberculosis, the leading cause of natural deaths in South Africa last year,” said Ramaphosa.
But three days later, on Friday, Pinky Mokoena and Lebo Gubuza were also turned away from Helga Kuhn Clinic. The pair, also on chronic medications, said they did not receive help at Mpumelelo, where they have been told to go.
“This is a sad situation. We have been going to the clinics for the past four days without success. We have no options because at pharmacies the pills are expensive. Maybe we have to try the clinics around Vaal and see if we can get help. At least they should have placed a container outside the premises to help people who are under treatment,” they said.
On Wednesday, Sunday Independent found two women outside Levai Mbatha Clinic - Kate Nkabinde and Lindiwe Mthimkhulu, who went for her monthly contraceptive injection. They were also turned away.
“I went to Stretford and Palm Springs (Helga Kuhn) and they referred me here because they have a positive Covid-19 case. Now I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go from now. I would go to the doctor if I had money. But because I am unemployed, I will just stay like this, I have no choice,”said Nkabinde.
Mthimkhulu, on the other hand, said she might consider bogus doctors because they were affordable.
Health Department spokesperson Popo Maja referred the Sunday Independent to the Gauteng Health Department when asked for comment.
Gauteng Health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said Levai Mbatha resumed operations on Friday while Helga Kuhn and Stretford have remain closed, and disputed that members of the public had been turned away.
“Even though some of the staff members have tested positive for Covid-19, that never resulted in the patients being turned away.
“If facilities cannot provide treatment at that point in time for whatever reason, they must be referred to another facility to receive treatment,” she said.
Director of the Future of Health and Medicine Project at the University of Johannesburg, Benjamin Smart, said: “The government has recently invested in 1000 scooters to help transport medication. These must be put to good use, and where clinics are closed, those scooters should deliver medications directly.
“This state of confusion is absolutely unacceptable. The government must immediately announce to all South Africans exactly what to do if their clinic is closed.”