NHLS terminates courier company service contract
The National Health Laboratory Service has terminated the services of Gibela Trade and Investments 1328CC with immediate effect. The actions of the courier company and their staff was found to be negligent and a risk to human life.
A preliminary investigation was conducted into the incident which occurred earlier this week where National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) samples were lost in transit on the N2 highway near Mdantsane.
The loss of the specimens amounts to a violation of the patient’s rights to protection of their medical records, privacy and confidentiality and the right to dignity. It potentially places the lives of those patients and their families at risk as well as those members of the public that may have come into contact with any positive specimens. “At a time when our country is dealing with a state of disaster due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Dr Kamy Chetty, CEO of NHLS, “these actions are reprehensible and the NHLS has taken swift action to terminate the services of Gibela Trade and Investments 1328CC.”
Two other courier companies that are already contracted to the NHLS in the Eastern Cape region have agreed to take over the routes covered by Gibela Trade and Investments 1328CC and they will be operational in the area from today, 2 July 2020.
“We are grateful to our other courier suppliers for stepping into the gap and assisting us at short notice,” says Tabita Makula, Eastern Cape Regional Manager at NHLS, “their efforts to extend their service so quickly will ensure that specimen transportation will continue with as little disruption as possible”
