KH impresses Cope president

A VISIT to the Kimberley Hospital Complex did not fail to impress yesterday when the national president of Cope, Mosiuoa Lekota, honoured the memory of his fellow Robben Island inmate, Nelson Mandela, with a visit to the Province’s health facility.

The visit included a meeting with senior staff at the complex as well as a tour of the facilities. Lekota took the opportunity to hand out toiletries to some of the patients who live far from Kimberley and have not had many visitors while receiving treatment in the city, while he also gave staff chocolates as a token of appreciation for their contribution to public health.

“We thought that we should commemorate the day with a visit to the Kimberley Hospital in order to inspect the facilities and see how the patients are doing,” Lekota said yesterday at the bedside of 11-year-old Danwell Scheepers, who was discharged from hospital on Monday afternoon but has been unable to get a lift home to Britstown.

Challenges

“We have also come to look at ways to address the challenges faced by patients of the Northern Cape, many of whom have to travel long distances, from rural areas, to receive treatment.

“We are dedicating today to Mandela by monitoring the work being done here in order to give feedback in Parliament on whether enough money is being budgeted and whether or not it is being properly allocated.”

The national spokesperson for Cope, Chris Liebenberg, said that the visit had exceeded all expectations, adding that the party’s leadership had been thoroughly impressed with the facility.

“We received a fantastic reception this morning and were very taken with what we found during our inspection,” Liebenberg said yesterday afternoon.

“It is not often that we have all our questions answered and we were incredibly pleased with how well informed the staff is with regards to the activities of the hospital.”