Department of Health urges community to use suggestion boxes to voice their dissatisfaction regarding service
“We aspire to provide the best health care possible and with the help of the community as they utilize these suggestion boxes, we can recognise our mistakes and fix them,” Mr Sibusiso Mabuza, DoH Communications Manager in the Gert Sibande District, said.
Patients who have been and are currently being treated at the Ermelo Provincial Hospital, say service is at an all-time low at the hospital.
The Highvelder has, on more than one occasion, received complaints from residents in Ermelo about the happenings at the hospital.
The situation came to a head on Wednesday morning, 7 November when allegedly patients could not be transported to other facilities due to lack of transport.
This caused the South African Communist Party (SACP) to intervene, calling on management at the hospital to take responsibility and address the issues that are of concern at the hospital.
The most burning issues that are alleged to be the bone of contention are:
• The lack of vehicles to transport patients to other facilities around the region and province.
• The lack of blankets for patients, as patients are advised from the onset to bring their own blankets from home as the hospital has a shortage of such.
When the newspaper enquired at the Department of Health (DoH) if such allegations are true, the departmental spokesman refuted such.
According to DoH there is no shortage of blankets at Ermelo Provincial Hospital and all patients are provided with clean blankets and linen upon arrival.
“However, some patients prefer to use their own blankets from home,” the spokesman, Mr Dumisani Malamude, said.
Regarding the lack of patient transport, the department said the hospital has been allocated two light vehicles to transport patients to different referral hospitals and both vehicles are available and in working condition.
The hospital’s management encourages and appeals to patients and the community at large, when using the public healthcare facilities, to make use of the suggestion boxes at the hospitals and clinic to voice their dissatisfaction, suggestions, and complaints.
“We aspire to provide the best healthcare possible and with the help of the community as they utilise these suggestion boxes, we can recognise our mistakes and fix them,” Mr Sibusiso Mabuza, DoH Communications Manager in the Gert Sibande District, concluded.
