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SITEKI – Some patients were left bitter when they were turned back by security officers at the gates of Good Shepherd Catholic Hospital (GSCH) for not wearing face masks.
This is despite the fact that government relaxed COVID-19 measures, including that which was compelling members of the public to wear face masks in public spaces.
A patient from Maphungwane area was yesterday morning turned back for not wearing a mask at the main entrance of the hospital, afterwhich he voiced his disgruntlement.
According to the patient, he had come for medical checkup, after being offered a job by a security company. It is worth mentioning that clinics around the Siteki Town, including the Lubombo Referral Hospital, also do not allow patients who are not wearing masks to be attended to by health workers.
Besides the face masks, the GSCH continues to also administer temperature checks in tents at the hospital. The aggrieved patient said government was supposed to make an announcement that members of the public should wear masks when visiting health facilities across the country.
“I was shocked to learn that I had to go back to get a mask because I came without it when I was turned back by the security guards at the gate. I was told that patients were not allowed inside the hospital premises without masks. I was angry at this because I was not going to seek medical attention but to do medical check-ups,” said the patient.
Unfortunate
A female patient also stated that she had no clue that members of the public were compelled to wear face masks when seeking medical attention at the health facility. “It is an unfortunate scenario because people are no longer wearing face masks in public. I thought the relaxation of the measures was also applicable to health facilities,” said the woman. GSCH Communications Officer Zwelakhe Moahloli said it was unfortunate that the security guards turned back visitors and patients, yet they were supposed to remind them to wear their face masks when entering the health institution.
The communications officer also stated that the advocacy on promoting the wearing of face masks when entering health facilities had been necessitated by the steadily increasing figures of infection, particularly in the Lubombo Region.
Moahloli said the hospital always ensured that face masks were available at entry points of the institution, so that those entering the premises were provided with them.
He put emphasis on the fact that the wearing of face masks was only done to protect clients and staff from contracting the pandemic from people who were exhibiting symptoms while waiting for medical attention. “The wearing of masks is not limited to patients but staff and visitors. We don’t chase away patients and it is unfortunate if such an incident did happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi said government had not made it mandatory for patients going to health facilities to wear face masks. The minister said if the patient exhibits fluelike symptoms or had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), they should wear face masks, especially if they had an appointment at any health facility.
She said on this issue, it might have happened that the institution was advised that visitors, patients and staff should wear face masks to ensure that they hospital. ǤǤǤ were protected at all times while at the premises of the