Party slams rural health services
CONCERNS have been raised that the poor management of health care services in outlying areas of the Northern Cape, especially Namaqualand, is risking the lives and the well-being of people who reside in the rural areas of the Province.
The DA in the Province said yesterday that state health services in places such as Bergsig and Fraserburg were “sub-optimal” and were characterised by a lack of resources and a “dire shortage” of staff.
“The state of care at Williston Hospital is probably the worst. One of the three hospital sisters resigned with 24-hours notice and the other is on sick leave. The remaining sister works from 7am to 5pm in the day and is then on standby every night, while a single nurse works night duty at the hospital. The nurse has to call on the sister in the case of an emergency,” DA spokesperson, Isak Fritz, said yesterday.
He added that the situation was “dangerous, unsustainable and unacceptable”.
“It is unfair, to both patients and nurses, to place people’s lives in the hands of overworked staff. Not only does this open the department up to medico-legal claims but it also directly places people’s lives at risk. Given the above situation, one would expect the department to react with urgency to the situation. This, however, has not been the case.”
Fritz said that the acting district manager of Namaqualand, Daniel Grootboom, and the area manager, Sister Maretha Smit, remained unresponsive to the current circumstances.
“They fail to respond to complaints and they merely shrug their shoulders as if there is nothing that they can do to improve health care under their watch. It is precisely this lack of responsibility that is hampering health care in the districts from improving.
“It’s high time that people who are placed in management positions take ownership of their domain. It’s time that they work hard to recruit and retain staff, that they fight for their share of the provincial budget and that they come up with innovative ideas to beef up health services instead of sitting with their arms crossed and watching them collapse.”
Fritz concluded by saying that the DA had once again written to the MEC for Health, Lebogang Motlhaping, stating their concerns and asking for an intervention in Namaqualand.
“If no response is forthcoming we are strongly considering referring the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for them to investigate the violation of the basic right to life and to health care,” Fritz said.
Northern Cape Department of Health spokesperson, Lebogang Majaha, yesterday confirmed that the MEC’s Office had received the communique from the DA requesting intervention from the MEC.
Majaha stated that Motlhaping had visited districts in the Province, including Namaqua, earlier this year, to create platforms for officials in the district office and hospitals to raise their concerns and possible solutions to challenges directly to him.
“The MEC also conducted walkabouts at facilities to monitor, assess and improve the working conditions of our staff and service delivery to the patients. During those engagements, issues raised related to the shortage of nurses and doctors, as well as ambulances that served as a port of entry to service communities,” Majaha said.
He added that since the beginning of the year, 17 professional nurses and seven doctors were appointed in the Namaqua district.
He also stated that through the “Return to Nursing Programme”, aimed at encouraging those who have left nursing to consider returning to the workforce, the department had received a lot of interest from ex-nurses and a process was currently under way to appoint them, especially in areas experiencing shortages, such as Williston hospital.
“The MEC will be visiting the Namaqua district next week to follow up on outstanding matters,” Majaha concluded.