Unions demand that city clinic be closed
UNION representatives have advised their members not to report for duty at a Kimberley clinic, after a staff member was placed under quarantine.
Another clinic was closed earlier this week after caregivers were placed in isolation at a local quarantine site, while the Galeshewe Day Hospital was also closed yesterday.
The South African Liberating Public Service Workers Union (Salipswu), the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South African (Denosa) and the South African Federation of Trade Union (Saftu) insisted that the clinic be closed with immediate effect yesterday.
Salispwu provincial organiser Thapelo Thole added that they were concerned about the well-being of 95 caregivers who were assisting patients in the area.
“The clinic must be disinfected and all other staff must also be placed in self-isolation. Employees should also be re-tested as it is believed that the person who was placed in quarantine was also involved in conducting Covid-19 testing. This means that every person who underwent testing will have to be re-tested to ensure that they were not exposed to the virus. It is only after the unions intervened that it was agreed that the clinic would be closed to the public,” said Thole.
Nehawu regional secretary Moleme Moleme called on the Department of Health to be transparent about staff members who had contracted Covid-19.
“Staff only found out their colleague was positive when they enquired about why he was not at work. All staff should be placed in self-isolation or at a quarantine site provided by the state, if their homes are not conducive for self-isolation,” said Moleme.
He pointed out that Covid-19 was a community issue that affected everyone.
“If infections are kept secret it creates room for stigmatisation, where those who have fallen ill are ostracised, and workers feel that they are not being protected. It is imperative to keep staff informed in order to eliminate the spread of the virus and prevent cross-infections. We were advising patients not to enter the clinic but to rather come back next week for their medication, for their own safety.”
Denosa provincial secretary Anthony Vassen believed that clinics and health facilities were disregarding Covid-19 occupational, health and safety regulations.
“It is concerning that an increasing number of health care workers are becoming infected, where the actual number of positive cases is most likely to be much more widespread than anticipated. The Frances Baard District is the most populated area and should be run like a well-oiled machine, but sadly it is not,” said Vassen.
He added that unions had to step in to prevent staff employed at state health facilities in the Dikgatlong and Magareng municipal areas that were closed due to Covid-19 infections, from being relocated to other health facilities.
“Staff were instructed to report at another facility, without the employer being informed about their test results. At one health facility, it was ‘business as normal’ a day after a Covid-19 infection was confirmed. If it is business as normal, what guarantees are there that the premises were properly decontaminated, testing was conducted and all persons traced?”
No response was received from the spokesperson for the Department of Health.