World Cancer Day: Collect your chronic clinic meds from the Post Office

World Cancer Day is commemorated worldwide on 4 February. According to the World Health Organization, cancer is the second most prevalent cause of death, but thanks to improved treatment and early detection, survival rates of cancer are now much higher than a decade ago.

According to the World Health Organisation, any sign of a possible tumour such as inexplicable fatigue, a lump under the skin, sores that won't heal, or changes to existing moles, changes in bowel or bladder habits and persistent pain, warrant a visit to your doctor or clinic.

With this focus on health, patients of government clinics should remember that they can collect their chronic medication from a convenient Post Office instead of a government clinic.

The service is aimed at patients who live or work closer to a post office than a Government clinic. The main benefit of the service is longer service hours. Post Offices are open until 17:00 on weekdays and Saturdays until 12:30.

Waiting times at Post Offices have been short since the collection point for SRD grants was moved to supermarket – another benefit for patients. Most Post Offices have seating available for customers who are unwell or elderly.

The collection service is available at 342 post offices in all provinces except the Western Cape. These post offices were selected because they comply with the requirements of the Department of Health. Medication that requires specialised storage, such as cold storage, cannot be collected from a Post Office.

Patients of government clinics who would like to collect their medication from their local post office, should arrange it with their clinic. The Department of Health sends the patient an SMS when the medication is ready for collection and patients have 14 days to collect it before the medication is returned to the Department of Health.

Source: Government of South Africa