Johannesburg - According to the Democratic Alliance (DA), more than 600 disabled people are waiting for wheelchairs at Gauteng hospitals. In a statement, the party said this was due to delayed wheelchair deliveries across the province’s health facilities.
Gauteng DA spokesperson for health Jack Bloom said this was revealed to him by Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo Ralehoko in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.
Bloom said the biggest shortage was at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where there are 253 patients on the waiting list for wheelchairs.
He said some of the reasons given include delays in ordering processes, delayed deliveries of wheelchairs by the supplier, insufficient storage for bulk wheelchairs, as well as the flooded storeroom.
"Wheelchairs are due to arrive at this hospital by June 30 of this year. Meanwhile, they intend to improve the processing of orders by placing orders more frequently for smaller quantities to mitigate the lack of storage, and they will motivate a container to store wheelchairs in bulk," Bloom said.
Other hospitals affected by delays include Tambo Memorial Hospital, with 44 patients waiting for wheelchairs, Tembisa Hospital, with 11 patients and Edenvale Hospital, with five patients waiting for wheelchairs.
Bloom added that the City of Johannesburg Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities have 105 patients waiting for wheelchairs, while Ekurhuleni PHC facilities and West Rand PHC facilities have 98 and 84 patients on their waiting lists, respectively.
He said therapists at the PHC facilities are now calling all patients on the waiting lists to receive their wheelchairs.
"It is distressing that so many disabled people have to wait for wheelchairs to restore their mobility. Imagine the suffering and indignity of vulnerable people who needlessly wait long periods for wheelchairs," Bloom said.
Bloom said the supply management of wheelchairs needs to be tightened up as there is a sufficient budget to cover the assessed need for wheelchairs.
The Department of Health was yet to respond to inquiries related to this at the time of publishing.
The Star