Msogwaba Clinic now operate 24 hours
This came barely a month after members of the community, together with a number of community structures and Lifalesive Community Development Agency, a non-profit organisation, peacefully marched to the clinic and handed over a petition signed by more than 1 000 members of the community.
A community march, calling on the Department of Health to turn a local clinic to a 24-hour healthcare facility, has born fruits.
Msogwaba Clinic started to operate 24 hours a day from September 1.
This came barely a month after members of the community, together with a number of community structures and Lifalesive Community Development Agency, a non-profit organisation, peacefully marched to the clinic and handed over a petition signed by more than 1 000 members of the community.
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They called on the department to open Msogwaba and Eziweni clinics 24 hours a day and to increase nursing staff. Responding to the demands, the department handed the organisation a letter. The letter read: “Kindly note that the department has undertaken to designate Msogwaba Health Care to operate 24 hours.
This was initially planned to start on August 1 but due to the Covid-19 hindrances and infrastructural challenges it could not be possible. However concerted efforts are being made to get the health facility operates 24 hours with effects from September 1″. It also stated that Eziweni Clinic will continue to operate eight hours a day because it was gazetted to be an eight-hour clinic.
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It is also situated less than three kilometres from Msogwaba Clinic. Dumsani Malamule, spokesperson for the department, said, “Msogwaba is now operating 24 hours a day as a Community Health Centre (CHC). The province has 59 CHCs.
The staff is also safe as the facility has security guards as does all our CHC facilities,” he said. Lucky Nkosi, the chairperson of Lifalesive, confirmed that the clinic had started to operate day and night. “We are so excited that our dreams finally came to fruition. We struggled for a long time for the realisation of our rights of access to healthcare as it is specified in Section 27 of the Constitution,” he said. “We are committed in working hand in hand with the police to ensure that the health workers are safe while working at night,” added Nkosi.
Capt Jabu Ndubane, spokesperson for the Pienaar cluster police, said the local police will also intensify their patrols from now on to ensure the safety of nurses and patients at the clinic.
