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The Phelophepa project was born in 1994. The project had its humble beginnings as a three-coach eye clinic, but Transnet’s investment over the years in the project sees us today with two 20 coach fully equipped primary healthcare facilities equipped to run on rail. Phelophepa is a globally recognised, best practice comprehensive primary healthcare facility operated through Transnet’s existing railway networks spanning across South Africa. The Phelophepa project has two healthcare trains in its fleet that are fully equipped to provide quality primary healthcare services to communities we visit. The project is a 100% support mechanism to the Department of Health and is intended to support the health services mandate of the Department.
The Phelophepa Trains | Services
Healthcare Services
1. General Health
2. Wellness Checks
3. Full screenings services for diabetes, breast, cervical and prostate cancers
Dental Services
1. Dentistry Services
Eye Care Services
1. Eye screening services including the provision of prescription spectacles, ready-made readers and sunglasses to patients
Counselling and Psychosocial Support Services
1. Counselling services – through a dedicated team of psychologists and registered counsellors
2. Two on-board registered pharmacies that provide medication to patients
Pharmacy Services
1. The train has a registered pharmacy that provides up to schedule 4 medication to patients
The health clinic provides quality comprehensive primary health care services
The trains visit 70 communities across South Africa annually which are located alongside the rail corridor.
Phelophepa trains are marking 30 years of operation and impact in 2024.
There are two international award winning, globally acclaimed best practice primary healthcare facilities located on board the trains.
Impact Overview
Since inception in 1994, Phelophepa trains have provided healthcare services, including training to an estimated 15,8 Million people.
70 Community food gardens established annually through the Phelophepa Health Clinics to support food security initiatives in communities visited by the trains. 20 community volunteers are trained to sustain these.
60 dedicated Geriatric Active Aging Health Campaigns have been implemented annually in communities within a 50-kilometre radius of where the trains visits, increasing accessibility to health services by frail and older citizens.
Over 1755 temporary jobs are created annually benefitting unemployed persons in communities that the trains visit. Transnet’s annual investment in this is over R7,7 Million.
Over 5 000 community volunteers are trained annually through the project in Basic Healthcare. These volunteers are now enabled to strengthen the network of home-based community care givers in their communities.
1 100 final year health and humanities students are placed on-board the two Phelophepa trains annually from Universities and training Institutions across the country to gain practical exposure in a culturally diverse setting and in treating patients who have little to no access to some of the services. This grooms students to enter the world of work better prepared to serve our nation.
In 36 weeks of operations The Phelophepa health trains have reached 400 000 patients on average annually
50 000 pairs of spectacles were provided to our patients after their vision screening. These patients received their spectacles on the same day, proudly manufactured on-board our laboratories on both trains. The cost of spectacles is R30 per pair.
Our on-board pharmacies dispensed medication to an estimated 45 000 patients, at a cost of R5 per patient.
Transnet’s investment in communities through the two Phelophepa trains since 1994 is an estimated R1,8 Billion.
The Phelophepa Route
Disclaimer: Stations are subject to change based on quality of railway infrastructure.
Transnet Foundation
Become a Partner for our Phelophepa Healthcare Trains
Transnet is looking for partners for its Phelophepa Healthcare Trains project to help expand the reach and scale of its healthcare services.
Following the successful operations of the last 30 years, Transnet is seeking partnerships that can support driving this work of community impact in healthcare services forward.
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