Emergency solutions needed for long medicine queues

18 March 2020

I am most concerned that there are still long queues for medicines at our public hospitals, which increases the risk of coronavirus infection especially for elderly people.

At large hospitals there can be more than a hundred patients in a long medicine queue waiting for many hours.

Alternate medicine collection arrangements need to be made urgently.

Queues could be thinned easily by giving three months supply of chronic medicines instead of forcing patients to come every month.

Medicines should be available at a variety of collection points, including private pharmacies, as is done extensively in the Western Cape.

Community Health Workers could also pay a valuable role in medicine distribution.

Emergency measures are needed as it is unacceptable to subject vulnerable patients to infection risks in hospital queues.

Issued by Jack Bloom,DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 18 March 2020