Improved oncology pharmacy at Charlotte Maxeke to change lives

This was the message delivered by the Gauteng Department of Health when an upgraded oncology pharmacy was launched at the hospital on 23 July.

In an effort to improve on the quality of service delivery in the province, the department partnered with pharmaceutical company, Roche to refurbish the unit equipped with machinery costing more than R1 million.

Hospital CEO, Gladys Bogoshi thanked the staff of both the oncology clinic and pharmacy for the dedication and passion they show towards cancer patients on a daily basis.

“It is no easy task to treat at least 2 000 patients with various cancers per month of which about 200 are newly-diagnosed patients. You bring hope to patients and for that we salute you,” she said.

The CEO added that hospital staff in the oncology unit are supported by various non-profit organisations to provide medical care as well as services such as palliative care, support groups and counselling to patients.

Chief oncology pharmacist, Karen Robertson said prior to the upgrade, pharmacists lacked sufficient space and modern equipment to ensure safe, appropriate and cost-effective use of the cancer medicines they were preparing.

“Chemotherapy is not one drug, there are many types of chemotherapy and often various chemotherapies are combined to treat patients,” she said.

“Combining different treatments and the mixing of this requires a safety extraction hood so pharmacists are not exposed to the chemicals while mixing. A new hood now ensures a safer environment to mix the correct dose of drug for each patient.”

The hospital’s oncology pharmacy has six specialised pharmacists preparing cancer treatments. These pharmacists play an integral part of a patient’s cancer care journey.

“If a patient or nurse has any questions about cancer medication, the oncology pharmacist is a helpful resource. With more space, patients and nurses can now interact more comfortably with the pharmacists,” concluded Robertson.