Medics reach remote patients with clinic on board train
87 views · Published 30 October 2018 · 6:26 · Indexed 1 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(25 Oct 2018) LEADIN: Medics in South Africa are hoping to reach thousands of people in need of basic medical attention with two trains kitted out with dental and eye clinics. They aim to help poorer people in rural communities who would otherwise have no access to proper health care. STORYLINE: With nineteen carriages equipped for mobile medical facilities, this train is one of two which travel thousands of kilometers across South Africa every year. It aims to provide much needed healthcare to the residents of South Africa's more remote areas. Medical attention in these communities is limited, poor resources mean many people fail to get necessary medical care. Although the trains target the most vulnerable groups in the passing communities, everyone is welcomed. The objective is the early detection and if possible, the prevention of disease. The acting manager of the train is Bheki Mendlula. Mendlula first came across the scheme, spending his final year as an optometry student, when he was assigned to work on the train. He took a full time post five years ago after graduating and now acting manager who is also responsible for the logistics, ensuring the efficient running of this train, Phelophepa One. Mendlula says: "I got to see the other side of our country, and how much need people has for the services that I was being trained to render. I realized the impact that the clinic had across the stations that we visited, the demand, seeing people sleeping over just to access eye care services. So that kind of planted a seed with me, if I can be there I could play a meaningful role as well, and I will feel that I have done much for this country as well, that I've have played a part in the nation building." As soon as the train reaches its destination it becomes clear just how much need the medics are hoping to fulfill here. Crowds gather in the reception area, including the vulnerable elderly and children from the local school. It's especially important for children to get access to treatment such as expert dental care in their early years. Teacher Berna Viljoen seizes the opportunity to bring her young pupils from the Verenorg Primary School to see the doctors here. It's quite a mission with so many children, but she says it's extremely difficult for parents to access health care for their children. According to Viljoen: "Some of the guardians as well as the parents work from six o'clock in the morning, up to six or seven o'clock at night, and on Saturday's the doctors are closed, so it makes it very difficult for them to take a child to the clinic, because then they have to take a day off, and if you take a day off, it is a days salary that you loose. I think that that is something which is very difficult in our community because everyone is dependent on that daily salary, and I think if one has to choose between a meal and a toothache, maybe you will choose a meal, because you have to feed your whole household." Obviously, the trip to the dentist isn't always pleasant, but remedies and corrections the youngsters get here today could prevent more serious problems with their teeth later on in their lives. The train also has any eye centre with trained optometrist. The service includes good quality affordable prescription glasses which are made up on the spot for patients. Fifty four year old Anna Vrede is here for her first ever pair of spectacles. The subsidised treatment means she's able to by glasses for R30 (Rand) that's roughly $ 2.00 (US). Percy Magwale is a newly qualified optometrist who is making the most of the work experience he's getting on the train. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/21b9d54ae09b28266a9da1a7f404ff0b
