Community welcomed to help improve service delivery – CoE

The City of Ekurhuleni invited the community to participate in clinic governance to improve service delivery at Edenvale Clinic.

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This comes after Eastleigh resident Rev Lenka Tahile raised concerns about the level of services provided by the municipal facility.

Last year Tahile visited the clinic on December 2 to collect chronic medication before he was turned away empty-handed because of a lack of staff.

Returning on December 7 Tahile spent six hours and 45 minutes before he collected his medication.

Concerns he raised to the NEWS included; patients waiting long periods, receiving what he described as poor service, Covid-19 protocols not always being enforced and the facility being short-staffed.

CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said that on December 2 there was a positive Covid-19 case at the clinic.

He said a thorough screening of personnel and baseline tests needed to be done.

Dlamini said the Chief Professional Nurse (CPN) explained the situation to clients at the clinic.

“The Field Worker again relayed the message to the patients and explained that they would need to wait until the process is finished,” said Dlamini.

“The complainant arrived at the clinic at 09:40 and the processes had already been explained to the clients.”

Dlamini said community members should participate in clinic governance to improve service delivery at the facility.

“An invitation will be extended to community members including the complainant to participate in the clinic committee,” said Dlamini.

Speaking on Covid-19 protocols at the clinic Dlamini said the facility has a system for social distancing, screening of all clients and hand sanitisation.

“Compliance to social distancing outside the clinic building requires a dedicated queue marshal, which the Edenvale clinic does not have,” explained Dlamini.

Dlamini highlighted that there is a field worker tasked to ensure that clients maintain social distancing however this is done periodically because the field worker is not at the clinic the whole day.

Dlamini said currently Edenvale Clinic is short-staffed.

He said the clinic has a vacancy for a professional nurse, a nurse on maternity leave and another nurse on study leave.

“There is a leave plan and workplace skill plan to avoid personnel depletion at the clinic,” said Dlamini.
Additionally, he said isolation and quarantine of employees affects normal clinic service delivery.

Highlighting the impact, the pandemic has had on the clinic and its staff Dlamini said healthcare workers at the clinic are severely affected by the outbreak of Covid-19.

“For example, when personnel test positive and must go on isolation and quarantine.”

“The isolation and quarantine of personnel increases the workload of other personnel still at the clinic which results in long waiting time.”

The CoE encouraged patients on chronic medication to make use of the National Department of Health’s Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme.

Patients who may qualify for this programme must be stable on their medication and need to have been taking their chronic medication for more than a year.

Visit www.ekurhuleni.gov.za for more information.

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