KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane visited the Wentworth Hospital’s pharmacy department yesterday to assess the availability of medication. Picture: Doctor Ngcobo Independent Newspapers
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has admitted that some patients were turned away without receiving medication from healthcare facilities in the province, however, she said these were isolated incidents that were being investigated.
Simelane held a media briefing yesterday after she conducted a visit to Wentworth Hospital to assess their medication stock levels.
This comes after ActionSA raised concerns about the lack of medication at certain facilities. The party also compiled a list of members of the public who had complained on social media that they did not receive their medication.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) also said yesterday that there was a shortage of medication.
However, Simelane insisted that while some hospitals may have lower stock levels of specific medicines, the department used a structured stockpiling system to ensure continued supply.
“There is no crisis. Whatever challenges exist are being dealt with,” she said.
Simelane said instances where medication was not available could be due to several factors, including delays from suppliers, late ordering by facilities, and the preference for certain medication brands over alternatives.
“What we would not have sometimes is a particular brand. But we have alternatives,” she explained. “If you don’t have a particular painkiller that we call by name, we as the Department of Health have alternatives such as paracetamol.”
She acknowledged that some patients had been told there was no medication available and had been turned away, an issue the department is investigating.
“It has come to our attention that in some of our facilities, for reasons unknown to us right now, patients are being told that there is no medication. That’s something we cannot run away from,” she said.
Simelane also raised concerns about allegations that medications meant for public hospitals were being stolen and sold illegally.
“I received a WhatsApp message this morning from someone saying that medication is being sold at pension points and even in private homes,” she revealed.
“One of the things we need to deal with is how medication goes out of our gates without proper checks.”
The MEC also mentioned the department’s financial challenges due to budget cuts over the years.
“The Department of Health has lost over R7 billion from its baseline over the past five years,” she said, explaining that these cuts affected hiring and resources.
She confirmed that she had met with the premier and President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding financial constraints.
“We raised this issue with the premier and we had a formal session with the president in November. He told us to present our situation and he would take it up with national government,” she said.
Nehawu KZN provincial secretary Ntokozo Nxumalo said a shortage of medication was the reality on the ground. “Some facilities do not even have pregnancy tests,” he said.
Nxumalo said that when a clinic runs out of a certain drug, they often borrow from neighbouring facilities, which leads to delays.
“The department won’t admit it, but the reality is that there is a shortage. I have a family member who went to a clinic for a sore but was only given antibiotics because they were told there was no medication.”