Deputy Health Minister Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo has been hailed for helping save the life of a fellow passenger aboard a Durban to Cape Town flight on Monday.
In a statement, the Health Department said it had received thankful messages from a number of passengers on the flight following Dhlomo’s intervention when a passenger experienced health issues.
A female passenger was reportedly not well and Dhlomo managed to attend and stabilise her until landing in Cape Town.
“I was alerted by a passenger seated behind me in the plane that the cabin crew were asking for medical assistance to assist a passenger who was not well. I had to quickly move from my seat to the seat next to the passenger and attended (to) her,” said Dhlomo.
“As a trained medical doctor, I had to check her vital signs in order to detect any medical problems. Thanks to my fellow passengers and the flight attendants who provided the medical kit and oxygen to enable me to stabilise the patient throughout the journey.”
When the pilots were talking about the possibility of diverting the flight, Dhlomo said he would be able to manage the situation until the scheduled destination. There he handed over the patient to the paramedic team waiting at Cape Town International Airport.
“This is in the nature of the deputy minister to contribute towards accelerating healthcare service delivery by regularly visiting health facilities and forensic pathology services around the country to lend his hand through performing post-mortems to enable the families to bury their loved ones on time,” the department said.
Cape Times