Hospitals in crisis

PRIVATE sector hospitals are very expensive and beyond the reach of the people, and the many South Africans living people below the poverty line are forced to use government hospitals.

Government hospitals are known for their lack of sanitation and basic infrastructure, and quality medical facilities are scarce or non-existent in some poorer, rural areas.

Space is tight, doctors in short supply, lifts not working, clogged toilets, patients waiting for hours to see doctors, absconding nurses, poorly stored medicines, unclean wards and torn beds are among the issues. There has been a steady increase in reports of health care-related problems, including overcrowded wards, dilapidated infrastructure, food shortages, broken-down ambulances and neglected state mortuaries.

The pathetic condition of government hospitals is no surprise to anyone.

Affordable but reliable healthcare is still an illusion in government hospitals.

Health care in the country is being severely compromised.

The failure to manage finances and ensure that facilities are functioning efficiently has led to serious consequences, including disability, stillbirth and death.

The health-care system is now so thinly stretched that even the demands of routine medical care are beyond our hospital’s capability.

Doctors and nurses are devoted to keeping patients safe and making them well, but there is only so much they can do when patients are lined up in corridors waiting for beds.

Now, more than ever, we need to solve our healthcare crisis and the Health Department needs to play a more active role in the manner that their facilities are run. YASMINA SADECK

Durban