Patients at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital in the North West have criticised it for allegedly failing to provide adequate optometry services.

Some of the patients claim the facility gave them the wrong prescription spectacles, which allegedly worsened their conditions. Others say they have been waiting for their spectacles for  years. 

One of the patients is a grade 12 learner, Gomolemo More, whose academic performance has been negatively affected by her vision problem. More says she struggles to read at school due to her poor vision. She has been waiting for her spectacles from the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital for almost two years. 

“I’m struggling at school because I have an eye problem and my performance is low. I don’t write other class works and notes because I can’t see from the chalkboard. I’ll be borrowing books from my friends. Even during exams, they’ll give me two to three hours then the time lapses without finishing. Sometimes my performance goes down because I didn’t finish writing another exam. I’m doing matric and I’m worried because we’ll be writing preparatory exams now,” More explains.

Her mother, Keabetswe More, says they have been going to the hospital since 2022, hoping to get spectacles for her daughter. But two years later, they are still waiting.

“I did ask what the problem was, they explained to me that there’s only one service provider. I then went again last year in October, till today. Early this year when I did a follow-up they told me that I must start afresh. Honestly, it breaks my heart because I’m scared that when time goes by if she doesn’t get the needed assistance she’s going to be blind.

53-year-old Tuelo Manhe says she too has been waiting for her prescription spectacles for five years. She says as a temporary measure the hospital lent her spectacles that are not suitable for her eye problem and this has worsened her condition.

“I managed to get a testing appointment two weeks after being referred to Mahikeng Provincial Hospital. I’ve been tested and was told to come and check if they’re ready after six months. I did come, but they were not available. In early 2023 they said they could lend me a pair of spectacles so that I can wear them, even though it’s not my lenses. I took it. They said they would call me when my pair of spectacles is ready. I’m still waiting for their call even now,” says Manhe.

Service provider didn’t deliver 

The North West provincial health department has attributed this situation to a service provider who allegedly failed to deliver.

“As the department we do acknowledge that there was a challenge or some delays in terms of the dispatching spectacles to our patients at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital. We have embarked on a process to ensure that we have a new service provider. We have managed to get a new service provider,” spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi says,  

According to the department, more than 100 patients in the province are waiting for their spectacles.

“We are aware of the far-reaching implications of this quandary but as is, it’s a two-way process. There are people who have applied for spectacles and haven’t collected them. We acknowledge that also on our part we could have done better. We are trying to do better in this regard. So we will improve our patient contact mechanisms to ensure that upon receiving these spectacles, we are able to immediately contact them.”

The hospital currently has only one optometrist and intends to recruit more. – Health-e News