CANCER outpatients, often disorientated or distracted after receiving treatment, have been spared the risk of facing serious traffic dangers outside the City’s new oncology centre.
Patients at the Richards Bay Medical Institute (RBMI), located on Lira Link in the heart of the town’s medical hub, have in the past faced a barrage of fast-moving cars and delivery vehicles streaming up and down the busy road.
Outpatients are often referred from the oncology centre to the Bay Hospital and nearby medical- and doctors’ rooms.
To get there safely, dodging the traffic has been daunting; two wheelchair patients are known to have been hit by passing vehicles while a number of near misses have been reported.
While the RBMI waits for speed humps or other traffic calming measures to be introduced, huge help has arrived in the form of ICE Medical Rescue, who at their own expense have provided an ambulance shuttle service to safely transfer the patients.
‘I don’t have the words to express our thanks for this unsolicited offer,’ said RBMI CEO, Mark Palmer.
‘Not only do the patients need to be transferred safely, but there is also the issue of liability as hospitals and others may not admit a person who came in without proper medical supervision.
‘This is a massive benefit for patients, combining convenience with safety.’
The shuttle service will soon include patient transfers between RBMI and Empangeni.
