On call in Ngwelezana
TOWNSHIP ER: FILM EXPLORING EXTREME PRESSURES DOCTORS FACE
International distribution for Safta-winning documentrary.
In South Africa, the average person works around 45 hours a week. Junior doctors, on the other hand, take on strenuous 30-hour shifts when on call. In this time, they see trauma and experience gut-wrenching medical scenes. They see death and life – all while they need to keep a calm mind in an ocean of dread that washes into the emergency room.
These surroundings are the backdrop of Township ER – a documentary that follows five doctors during their shift in Ngwelezana Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
On Monday, the Safta-winning film received international distribution thanks to Amazon, iTunes and Google Play where it is now available for purchase.
The ground-breaking work highlights the extreme pressures junior doctors working in South Africa face – but it also shows South African society at its worst and best.
From violent stabbings to domestic abuse – doctors face these societal ills daily, working in the pressure-cooker of hospitals.
Director Francois Wahl followed five doctors during their shifts. It resulted in a film that is part activism – calling for doctors’ hours to be reduced – and also a crisp piece of film that puts a very human face on these working professionals.
“Doctors’ working hours need to be under the spotlight constantly. It won’t change overnight, but the more coverage it gets the more it will be debated and longterm solutions will be sought.
“It also gives hope to young doctors. Most doctors watching the film can relate to the experiences of the doctors in the film and hopefully they will realise that they are not alone. So many doctors don’t have proper support structures,” says Wahl.
Gathering the footage gave him and the crew a taste of these extreme conditions.
“I had a migraine after each 30hour shift and had to sleep most of the next day to recover. I don’t know how anyone can function on so little sleep – let alone over an extended period of time. The effects must be devastating.”
In total, the film crew captured 150 hours of footage – much of which ended up on the cutting-room floor due to the nature of the content and patients unable to sign consent forms.
“Some patients were too drunk to consent to being shown on film. Others were so beaten and assaulted that they couldn’t see through their swollen eyes, and couldn’t see where to sign for consent. I want as many people as possible to see the film and thus chose not to show the more graphic footage. We show just enough to give an accurate depiction of what these doctors and their patients endure, without it being completely graphic,” Wahl says. “The environment must take its toll. I can completely understand why doctors get depressed and emotionally blunted after just a short while. “Some doctors have really strong characters and some have great faith which helps them stay sane and unaffected by it all. But I am saddened to think that some don’t have that stability and support.”
The director recalls falling asleep at 3am one morning while one of the doctors was busy stitching up a patient. He woke up 15 minutes later, when everyone had moved to the resuscitation room where a woman was lying after being beaten on the head with a hammer by her husband.
Another case involved a mother who brought in her child, wh0 had water on the brain.
The situation showed again how patients rely on the expertise of doctors.
For more information on the film visit documentally.co.za
I wanted as many people as possible to see the film.