POLOKWANE – Residents in Polokwane and surrounds will from October 3-7 and again from October 10-14 be able to access affordable healthcare when the Phelophepa Healthcare Train rolls into the city at the Polokwane Railway Station.
Transnet’s Phelophepa Healthcare Train media liaison officer for Polokwane, Malebo Mokone told BONUS that the train brings health and hope to thousands of rural South Africans in need of access to healthcare facilities.
The train is the world’s first primary healthcare hospital on wheels which uses the existing rail network in South Africa to make quality medical care an accessible reality for many of South Africa’s most remote communities.
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Mokone further explained that the 20-coach train consists of 20 staff members and is fondly known as the ‘miracle train’ as it carries modern medical equipment on board.
“Phelophepa is indeed a journey of hope that continues to make a history of caring. The name Phelophepa combines elements of Sotho and Tswana and it’s roughly translated to ‘good, clean, health’, which is exactly what this travelling health clinic provides,” Mokone said.
The first of the much-loved Phelophepa train started operating in 1994 and has shown incredible growth since its humble beginnings as a three-carriage eye clinic.
Today, almost two decades later it boasts 19 fully refurbished and equipped coaches that provide facilities for health and dental screening programmes, basic health education awareness and community counselling workshops.
Unfortunately this year, no eye services will be offered due to damage caused to the train when it derailed in January, Mokone explained. Phelophepha’s goal is to supplement and support existing facilities to make sure the residents can continue benefitting from quality healthcare once the train has departed. Education and empowerment that leave better equipped and informed communities in its tracks is a core value of the Phelophepa programme.
Programme:
• Before the train rolls into the city, teams are sent out to physically alert the community of the days the train will be delivering services. A comprehensive social mobilisation strategy is developed and implemented in collaboration with all local stakeholders in each community.
• Relationships are established with the existing healthcare providers so that patients can be referred and continue to receive the care they need.
• While the train is in the area, screening and healthcare education are the primary concerns. Health and dental teams visit local schools to screen learners for health and dental-related problems and educate them about basic healthcare and oral hygiene.
• Our convenient on-board pharmacy dispenses the necessary medication and our community outreach programme, led by the chief nurse, frequents local schools and communities in the surrounding areas. Healthcare education lies at the very heart of Phelophepa services.
• It equips people living in such remote communities with important knowledge that will help them to correctly prevent and identify disease symptoms as well as to show them how to take their medication correctly.
• A special team of resident staff live on the train for its annual ninth month operational period and these dedicated healthcare professionals and support staff, together with the Transnet Foundation senior staff will manage the logistics and supervise the continuous stream of final year students from leading academic institutions all over SA, who participate to gain invaluable practical experience for two weeks at a time.
• Annually, approximately 1 200 final year students practice on-board Phelophepa Health Trains.
