A Stellenbosch University (SU) student claimed that Campus Health Services (CHS) recently failed to follow proper protocol when she was initially denied access to in-person medical assistance.
This was according to Kerryn Lagerwall, a second-year LLB student at SU, who was asked to leave the CHS building after she could not produce a green Higher Health HealthCheck.
The HealthCheck tool is an online risk assessment tool, which is intended to evaluate the likelihood that the user has been exposed to Covid-19, according to the Higher Health website.
Lagerwall visited CHS on the morning of 20 October after experiencing a persistent cough for “two-and-half to three weeks”, but claimed that she did not present any other Covid-19 symptoms. She was hoping to get a doctor’s advice, “because it’s obviously not Covid – it’s passed the ten-day isolation time and all that – so they should be able to see me”, said Lagerwall.
Campus Health Services is the primary healthcare provider at Stellenbosch University, and is based on 7 Claassen Street. Kerryn Lagerwall, a second-year LLB student at SU, told MatieMedia that she was recently asked to leave the Campus Health Services building after she could not produce a green Higher Health HealthCheck. PHOTO: Sourced/Google Maps
Lagerwall told MatieMedia that she spoke to the person at the door who signs in visitors. When Lagerwall was only able to provide the person with an orange Higher Health HealthCheck, they escorted her out of the CHS office.
“[The person was] refusing to answer any of my questions, even though she could clearly see I was very confused,” claimed Lagerwall.
After about 30 minutes of waiting in the parking lot, Lagerwall received a call from one of the CHS nurses.
The CHS representative told Lagerwall that if she was coughing, she would need to get a negative Covid-19 test before entering the CHS office.
“She gave me a sick note, which is not really why I went to the doctor’s office. I went there to get help, to get better,” said Lagerwall. She added that the entire phone call lasted about five minutes.
Dr Lynne Julie, a medical officer at CHS, could not discuss specific cases with MatieMedia, due to patient confidentiality. She explained that a negative Covid-19 test is not needed to see a doctor at CHS. The initial consultation will, however, always be telephonic when a patient is presenting Covid-19 symptoms, she said.
“If needed, a doctor will see the patient in a designated area within CHS, having planned for the necessary safety precautions to be in place,” she said.
A patient with an orange or red Higher Health HealthCheck is only allowed into CHS if a clinical staff member has deemed it necessary for a face-to-face consultation, according to Julie.
Higher Health is a national agency that seeks to aid the two million students across 26 universities and 50 TVET colleges in South Africa by improving their health and wellbeing, according to their website. Currently, a Stellenbosch University (SU) patient with an orange or red Higher Health HealthCheck is only allowed into SU Campus Health Services (CHS) if a clinical staff member has deemed it necessary for a face-to-face consultation, according to Dr Lynne Julie, a medical officer at CHS. PHOTO: Sourced/Higher Health
Alternative avenues
Lagerwall visited a general practitioner in Durbanville on 22 October, who required no Higher Health HealthCheck, nor a negative Covid-19 test, for an in-person consultation.
“[They] informed me that I 100% don’t have Covid – my symptoms don’t show any signs of Covid and it’s just an upper respiratory infection,” said Lagerwall.
The credibility of the Higher Health HealthCheck has been diminished, as students might be inclined to lie about their symptoms so that they can be seen by a doctor, claimed Lagerwall.
“I’ve never had any experience that even comes close to what I experienced,” she said, with reference to her visit to CHS. She claimed that all other doctors that she has visited this year have never once turned her away because she was seeking medical help and had symptoms.
“The lack of consequences for dishonesty, combined with the need to write exams and attend classes, has resulted in a flawed system which can no longer protect students,” said Nicholas Vine-Morris, a third-year LLB student at SU, on the credibility of the Higher Health HealthCheck.
According to Julie, they have not noticed any trend of patients lying to see a doctor.