MBOMBELA – It was a week of complete pandemonium at Rob Ferreira Hospital, with rotting corpses, an injured doctor, trashed wards and burning rubbish – it looked like a war zone.
It wasn’t until www.lowvelder.co.za revealed that the publication had discovered a decomposing body on the third floor of the hospital and a video of this horrific find was released on www.mpumalanganews.co.za, that the Department of Health intervened and the strike came to an end.
The hospital had been forced to its knees by striking cleaners, porters and nursing personnel who downed tools last Thursday, demanding uniforms, cleaning aids, computers, medication and compensation for overtime. Last Friday they barricaded all entrances to the hospital and prevented ambulance services from dropping off patients. On Monday they proceeded to trash the premises and set branches and rubbish alight. Again all gates to Rob were barricaded.
Psychiatrist Dr Leif Brauteseth was injured when he attempted to move a log which the strikers had placed in front of the gate. Some of the protesters tried to prevent him from doing so and he lost his balance and fell. He sustained a big laceration to the head and had to receive seven stitches. Police were then deployed at the hospital to keep an eye on proceedings.
The situation reached breaking point on Wednesday when the strikers flooded hospital floors and trashed the corridors with rotten rubbish. X-ray machines sustained water damage and it was a heart-wrenching site to see doctors and the elderly, injured and frail patients having to tiptoe carefully through the puddles and filth, lest they slip and fall.
Only emergency operations were being performed as there was very little clean linen available.
EFF ward representative Mr Cyril Chuene informed Lowvelder of decomposing bodies which had been left on the third floor of the hospital. According to his information, they had been lying there for up to four days. He was contacted by desperate relatives who wanted the bodies released. The newspaper went to investigate.
The premises looked like a dumping site. Rubbish had been scattered all over. Striking employees were seated outside, chatting, laughing and chanting. Inside, the hospital looked almost deserted, like a ghost town.
It was an absolute mess with the floors having been flooded. Doctors who were performing duty sighed that the strikers had deliberately left the taps open. Rotten food was scattered all over. It was nauseating. The worst was yet to come.
These journalists made their way up to the third floor and smelled the decomposing body long before they would stumble upon it. It had merely been shoved into a room next to the lifts. It was covered with a green sheet which had already been partially drenched in blood and other bodily fluids which also dripped onto the floor. Flies were hovering around. The door was slightly ajar and any member of the public could have made this gruesome discovery.
Lowvelder took photos and a video which was uploaded onto www.mpumalanganews.co.za. When the newspaper returned to the scene later that afternoon, the body had finally been removed, with floral-scented gel capsules placed on the window sills in an attempt to disguise the smell.
Chuene had gone to the acting CEO of the hospital, Dr Gladys Coete, demanding answers. “She denied the crisis and said she wasn’t going to interfere as the strike was of a political nature,” he said.
That same afternoon, almost a week after the strike had commenced, the MEC for health Mr Gillion Mashego finally arrived at the hospital to address the angry mob. He was accompanied by the MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Mr Vusi Shongwe and acting provincial commissioner Maj Gen Meshack Nogwanya. Mashego tried to excuse himself by saying that he didn’t always have the time to attend to “all issues”.
This didn’t go down well with the crowd. He continued to explain that the procurement of uniforms was delayed because the team tasked to handle the purchasing thereof had been changed because the department had identified discrepancies in the procurement process.
“A second was appointed to continue with the process and has now moved with speed to finalise the procurement processes which are now awaiting final approval. Once this is done a service provider will be appointed to work on the uniforms,” he said.
It was then agreed that the workers would resume their duties with immediate effect and that a meeting to provide feedback on how far the department had dealt with the issues raised, would be held on December 12.
“The department would like to apologise to the public for any inconvenience caused during the strike and would like to assure all citizens that it is committed in providing better health care.”
