Refiloe Nt’sekhe of the Democratic Alliance says that public hospitals have become a death-trap for the poor‚ says
The party has produced this checklist of the top eight problems that it says require urgent intervention‚ following inspection visits to hospitals and clinics over the past month by DA provincial health spokespersons Jack Bloom MPL (Gauteng)‚ Dr Imran Keeka MPL (KwaZulu-Natal)‚ Dr Tutu Faleni MPL (North West) and Langa Bodlani MPL (Limpopo).
Here is a summary of their report:
1. Chronic staff shortages and long waiting times
All the facilities lacked staff in critical positions.
At the Bongani Hospital in the Free State‚ they found that the facility only had one nephrology Sister to attend to patients suffering from kidney diseases. This was despite health norms and standards indicating that hospitals should have nine.
While inspecting the Paediatric Ward in Taung District Hospital in North West‚ the DA fo Continue reading…
The South African Human Rights Commission inspected the Rahima Moosa Mother & Child Hospital on 8 November.
The investigation at the Rahima Moosa Hospital followed after a necrotising enterocolitis outbreak at the hospital took the lives of nine infants from March to July 2018.
After the visit to Rahima Moosa Hospital , Buang Jones from the South African Human Rights Commission said in a press briefing:
“From what we’ve gleaned so far, the hospital has violated the right of access to health. [..] They’ve also violated Section 28 of the Constitution which says that’s the best interest of children are of paramount importance.”
The hospital, which assists in the delivery of the approximately 13,000 babies yearly, acknowledged the death of the infants in August, but the cause of the outbreak is still unknown. The outbreak was contained in August.
According to a tweet posted by Jacaranda News, the SAHRC’s investigation also revealed that the Rahim Continue reading…
Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa has confirmed that more than 20‚000 patients have been harmed due to negligence in the space of two-and-a-half years at state hospitals in Gauteng.
Ramokgopa quoted the figure in a written response to questions posed in the Gauteng Legislature by Democratic Alliance MPL Jack Bloom.
When patients are harmed unintentionally‚ by an act of commission or omission rather than their underlying illness or condition‚ the incidents are recorded as “Serious Adverse Events”. There have been 20‚417 of these incidents in the province since 2016‚ to date.
“Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital is the most dangerous hospital for patients in Gauteng‚ with 4‚320 recorded (incidents)‚” Bloom said in a statement on Monday.
Ramokgopa confirmed that the cases were‚ broadly speaking‚ related to “allegations of negligence‚ incompetence of staff members‚ human errors‚ secondment of patients and system failure”.
All state hospitals in Gauteng have failed safety tests the Democratic Alliance (DA) revealed on Thursday citing a written reply from Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa in the Gauteng Legislature. “All Gauteng health facilities inspected by the Department of Labour for bio-hazard and other safety issues in the last three years have failed to meet the.. Continue reading…
