For patients in Beaufort West who depend on dialysis, receiving essential treatment means setting aside an entire day for a journey of almost 300 kilometres each way. Three times a week, patients are transported to George, where they receive care at the George National Renal Care Centre because there is no outpatient dialysis service in Beaufort West.
Phoebe Stephenson, who was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in April 2025, is among those making the trip. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, she travels with seven other Beaufort West patients in a vehicle operated through HealthNet, a patient transport service run by the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness.
“It’s five hours to the hospital. Then I have four hours of dialysis … Then I must still sit in a vehicle for another five hours to go back home.”
The journey, she said, is exhausting. The travel time is followed by several hours of treatment before the return trip begins, leaving patients with little opportunity to recover between the outward and homeward legs. The arrangement also affects other patients using the same transport service, including people receiving chemotherapy.
According to Stephenson, some chemotherapy patients have had to organise overnight accommodation because they cannot manage the five-hour drive back to Beaufort West after treatment. The lack of a local service therefore creates an additional logistical and financial burden for patients whose treatment schedules are already demanding.
Her husband, Juan, has accompanied her on some journeys. He said he had seen the toll the travelling takes on dialysis patients and called for urgent action. He also raised concerns about what happens when patients experience complications after treatment and their relatives are not permitted to accompany them.
“I have personally witnessed the exhaustion of the dialysis patients, and it is not good. Something must be done urgently to resolve this terrible situation.”
Juan said he had previously travelled as his wife’s escort because of complications she experiences after dialysis, but that this arrangement was later stopped by the transport supervisor. He said his concerns intensified after Stephenson became ill following treatment on 12 October.
Stephenson was admitted to a hospital in Mossel Bay after that dialysis session. Juan said she was alone and that no paperwork could be completed until he reached her the following day. The hospital admitted and stabilised her, he said, but further steps only followed after he arrived.
Local treatment remains unavailable
The provincial health department confirmed that the district hospital in Beaufort West does not currently provide dialysis. It also said there are no immediate plans to introduce the service at the hospital, meaning that patients requiring ongoing treatment will continue travelling to facilities elsewhere.
The department said it empathised with Beaufort West patients who needed to travel longer distances for dialysis and acknowledged the added pressure on patients and their families, particularly those requiring regular treatment. For Stephenson and the other patients using the HealthNet service, however, the practical reality remains a demanding cycle of long-distance travel, treatment and another lengthy journey home.
| Issue | Details |
|---|---|
| Nearest dialysis treatment named in the report | George National Renal Care Centre |
| Distance from Beaufort West | Nearly 300 kilometres |
| Travel frequency | Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday |
| Patients transported from Beaufort West | Eight, including Stephenson |
What patients are facing
- There is no public or private outpatient dialysis service in Beaufort West.
- Patients travel almost five hours to George, undergo about four hours of dialysis and then face the return journey.
- The provincial health department says the Beaufort West district hospital has no immediate plans to add dialysis services.
