Durban - Residents have until Friday to seek treatment aboard the Transnet-Phelophepa Healthcare Train.
The train is the world’s first primary healthcare hospital on wheels. It was open for consultations and treatment in Phoenix last week. The name - Phelophepa - combines elements of Sotho and Tswana and, roughly translated, means good, clean health.
Avasha Gopaulsingh, spokesperson for the healthcare train in KwaZulu-Natal, said the service started 26 years ago.
“Since then, it has grown significantly. It has 19 fully refurbished and equipped coaches that provide facilities for health, oral, and vision-screening programmes, basic health education awareness and community counselling workshops. The train also has a convenient on-board pharmacy,” she said.
Gopaulsingh said the staff strived to impart information to communities living in remote areas on healthcare preventative measures, identifying disease symptoms, and how to correctly take their medication.
Thelma Satekge, the acting manager on the train, said they last visited Phoenix in 2016.
“There are two trains, the Phelophepa 1 and the Phelophepa 2. Every year, each train goes to four provinces and visits sites in those provinces for two weeks. Before we were here, we were in Mtubatuba and from the end of this week, the train will leave to Pietermaritzburg.”
She said the trains visited areas where residents could not afford healthcare and there was a need for assistance.
“It's very cheap for people, especially pensioners . . . We have an eye clinic, a dental clinic and a health clinic. If a person visits the health clinic, they will only pay for their medication, which costs R5 for each item. If a person visits the eye clinic, they will get a free eye test and they have to pay for their glasses, which costs between R30 and R60. They will get their glasses on the same day, within about 20 minutes. If a person goes to the dentist, they can have their teeth cleaned, filled, or extracted and this is about R10.”
Satekge said they also offered free psychology consultations and that there was 22 permanent staff on board the train. Additional staff was outsourced from the community.
“For the two weeks that we have been here, we have employed 23 translators, 17 people to put up the tents outside the train, eight logistic workers (cleaners, kitchen staff, etc), hired a local pharmacy assistant, and employed 12 nurses, including retired nurses."
She said patients lined up outside the station gates from around 4am for treatment and that by 5am they were allowed to be seated at the facility.
“From 7am we begin screening the patients and processing them through for their treatments."
Satekge said officials from the Department of Health were also present outside the station to offer vaccinations.
"We do not do oversee patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension because we are only here for two weeks, so we cannot put patients on medication. But we advise them, that if they are chronic patients, that they must go to their local clinics or GPs."
She said because the country was at level 1 of the lockdown, the staff only treated a limited number of patients a day. There is an ambulance service on standby should a patient require admission to the hospital.
When the POST visited the site on Friday, people were seated in lines outside each clinic.
Pingla Ramsamy, 67, of Foresthaven, Phoenix, visited the eye clinic. She referred to Phelophepa as being a miracle train.
“The people here are helpful. They also have all the services that we need and it's priced good.”
She arrived at the station just after 4am and was done by 10am.
“My friends were talking about the clinic and they told me about it. We decided to come together. Last year, I bought new glasses but in December it broke. I was so upset because the glasses cost over R1 000 and I am a pensioner. It would be too costly to replace it. By coming here, not only did I get a free eye test but I am also leaving with new tested glasses for just R30. I am really excited because I have been straining my eyes while reading and watching TV.”
Sandra Moodley, 59, of Stonebridge, also in Phoenix, arrived at the station at 8.30am to visit the healthcare clinic.
She said she had pain in her leg for a week and that she needed medical advice.
"I went to the local clinic to fetch my chronic medication and overheard the nurses talking about the train services, how cheap it was, so I asked them for more information. I also wanted to also go to the dentist today (Friday) but I arrived too late. I will have to come back another day."
Moodley said she felt more comfortable consulting with healthcare workers on the train than going to a hospital.
“The number of patients that they are attending to is limited and people are abiding by the social distancing rules. If I had to go to the hospital, I would be sitting there for hours in the queue and people won't abide by the rules. I feel safe here.”
Tiny Ramsamy, 66, of Stonebridge, said he was impressed with the organisation on the train.
“I came in 2016 when the train visited Phoenix. At that time, I was not impressed because I felt things were not organised but this time around it’s a better feeling. The staff is willing to help and they are ensuring that all Covid-19 protocols are followed. The staff is also very clued up.”
On Thursday, Ramsamy had his teeth cleaned and a filling done and on Friday he went to the eye clinic.
“This train is helping people who need healthcare but cannot afford it. It is reasonably priced and it does everything that people need. I used to be part of the Stonebridge Clinic Committee so I understand how the health side works and compared to the normal clinics, this is better.
“Normal clinics don’t support dentistry and eye clinics whereas this sees to people's needs. Another thing that I am happy about is that this project came out to an area that needs assistance."
The healthcare train has won several service excellence awards over the years, including the UN Public Service Award in the Improving Service Delivery category in June 2008.
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