Physically challenged Vergenoeg resident Danie September is still asking questions after the provincial ambulance service left him stranded, causing him to miss an important appointment in Port Elizabeth recently.
Physically challenged Vergenoeg resident Danie September is still asking questions after the provincial ambulance service left him stranded, causing him to miss an important appointment in Port Elizabeth recently.
Early last month, September had an appointment with specialists at the Provincial Hospital in Port Elizabeth to be measured up for a new pair of specially modified shoes. His were starting to fall apart.
September was born physically challenged, walking on his toes. After numerous operations, he was able to walk with crutches and this custom-made footwear. Getting one's hands on a new pair is not easy, September explained, as you cannot buy them from a regular shoe dealer.
The only way to get a new pair was for September to take a trip to Port Elizabeth. That sounded easy enough. He went through all the necessary procedures to book transport through Settlers' Hospital and was given the date of 18th November for his trip. But when the day came he was left stranded, as the hospital transport failed to arrive at his house to fetch him.
September said, "I woke up really early on the day, around 4am, and waited outside until 7am for them to come and pick me up." "When I called the ambulance people to find out why I had not been picked up, they simply told me that they don't pick up people from Vergenoeg.
That was really odd to me, as they could pick up patients from Joza, Extension 9, Scott's Farm and Albany," said September. Not content with this answer and the treatment he was getting from the man answering the phone, September asked to speak to the person in charge.
According to September, the man replied, "I can do whatever I want," and refused to put him through to the person in charge." When Grocott's Mail called this week, Settlers' Hospital confirmed that September had been booked for the trip to Port Elizabeth on 18 November.
However, when Grocott's Mail contacted the provincial ambulance service, we were put on hold for long periods and spoken to abruptly. Grocott's Mail was thus unable to confirm a claim by a member staff of the ambulance services, who had earlier spoken to the newspaper on condition of anonymity, that it is the service's policy to only collect renal patients at their homes and that others are expected to make their own way to a pick-up point at Settlers' Hospital.
