Irate hospital patients revolt
FED up with waiting for hours to see a doctor, dozens of frustrated patients at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Phoenix confronted the management on Monday, demanding better treatment.
Phoenix resident Ranitha Gengapershad, who had been waiting from midnight, said management needed to “catch a wake-up”.
“I waited for almost 16 hours at the medical outpatients department and was still not seen to, and it gets worse as the days go by. There is only so much people can take. They have had enough.”
Gengapershad, 54, suffers chronic diabetes, high blood pressure and a thyroid problem. She often walks to the hospital for her regular checkups, and said she felt sorry for the old folk.
“Old people sit for two or three days. It affects not only their health but their finances. Some have to hire vehicles just to get to the hospital. It can get expensive, especially with a pensioner’s income.”
She blamed overloading and a backlog of patients for the agonising delays.
“There are too many patients and not enough doctors. When it gets to 4pm, they clock off and we are moved to the casualty section.”
Gengapershad, a housewife, asked for the hospital to get more doctors. “Hopefully the waiting period will decrease substantially.”
A 65-year-old patient, who requested anonymity fearing victimisation, said her legs were still swollen from the long wait on Monday.
“I waited for 17 hours and still had to go back on Tuesday to pick up medication for high blood pressure.”
Minority Front councillor Jonathan Annipen was escorted from the building when he sought answers from the management.
He said it was “mayhem” at the hospital.
“I was told by the chief executive Dr Linda Sobekwa there was a shortage of staff and doctors, in particular, did not want to work at the hospital.”
He said the information was disturbing, considering the hospital had opted to stop using doctors part-time in the past year.
Annipen said he had approached Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo in August and Dhlomo had insisted the hospital’s affairs were under control. He said the hospital management had decided to stop using part-timers to create space for full-time doctors.
POST was made privy to the MEC’s messages sent to Annipen, which read: “I will monitor. I don’t want this community to suffer more than it already has.”
Dhlomo asked Annipen to give the hospital space to manage the situation.
Calls to Dhlomo and his spokesperson Desmond Motha were not returned by time of publication.