Deputy Health Minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo saves passenger’s life on flight

Deputy Health Minister Sibongiseni Dhlomo has been lauded for saving the life of a fellow passenger who experienced health complications on board a local flight.

The Department of Health said the aircraft was flying from King Shaka International Airport in Durban to Cape Town on Monday morning when one of the passengers on board fell ill.

Spokesperson Foster Mohale said the department received messages of support from passengers who were on the plane.

Diverting flight

“Deputy Minister Dhlomo was alerted by one passenger about the situation in which another passenger was in need of emergency medical assistance from anyone with a medical background to assist a female passenger because she was not well.

“He managed to attend and stabilise her for the remainder of the trip, which was almost cut short when the pilots were considering flight diversion for an early landing to save her life,” Mohale said.

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Dhlomo, who is a qualified doctor, indicated that he was confident to take care of the patient until they reached their destination, said Mohale.

“He responded that he would be able to manage the situation until the scheduled destination where he finally handed over the patient to the paramedic team at Cape Town International Airport.

“This is in the nature of the deputy minister to contribute towards accelerating healthcare service delivery by regularly visiting health facilities and forensic pathology services around the country to lend his hand through performing post-mortems to enable the families to bury their loved ones on time,” Mohale said.

Dhlomo thanked the crew and passengers who helped him take care of the patient during the flight.

“Thanks to fellow passengers and the flight attendants who provided the medical kit and oxygen to enable me to stabilise the patient throughout the journey,” said Dhlomo.

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