The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has called for the urgent rollout of a National Electronic Health Record and Patient Tracking System.
This comes after SA Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi admitted that the lack of synchronisation among health facilities across SA has created loopholes that some patients exploit, collecting medication from multiple facilities without detection.
Motsoaledi was responding to reports that antiretroviral drugs were found in the wreckage of a recent bus crash in Limpopo province.
SAFTU Spokesperson Newton Masuku says the discovery raises serious concerns about theft and corruption within public health facilities.
“We demand the implementation of a national electronic patient tracking and medicine control system so that we can avoid such things,” said Masuku. “If a person can go to multiple hospitals collecting the same medication, it calls into question whether they’re using it themselves or selling it to others. This reeks of theft and corruption in the selling of medication.”
—ChannelAfrica—
