Side view of bed in a mental hospital ward. Picture: iStock
Nurses from Shiluvana Hospital in Limpopo say they fear going to work as some mental patients become violent and threaten them as they no longer receive the medication that calms them down.
The hospital is a frail care centre based in Ritavi village near Tzaneen, Limpopo, that has 100 employees.
The facility accommodates more than 160 patients suffering from mental conditions, those who have had strokes and the elderly.
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The Citizen has been reliably informed that there is always a backlog when it comes to medicine supply at the facility.
“It is true that there is always a shortage of medication at the hospital,” said a senior staff member who did not want to be named fearing reprisal.
“We once had a situation where some mental patients injured each other as they were not given the medication that was used to calm them down.
“We work at night sometimes and our lives are in danger. We no longer feel safe when we are at work.
“When we tried to confront the management about the shortage of the medication they did not even bother to listen to us,” said the source.
“If it was easy to get another job I would resign with immediate effect because we are no longer safe at work.
“This is a frail care centre so these patients need serious attention. Therefore, there is no space for a shortage of medication.”
The source said since the new management came in many things had been going wrong at the facility.
Since the new management took over last month, the staff have not received their overtime pay.
Another employee confirmed that there was a crisis at the centre. She said since the new company, Intercity Ambulance & Nursing Services, took over her benefits, such as Unemployment Insurance Fund and pension that had been stopped.
“We need assistance because these people do not even give us a chance to communicate with them. Also, there is a shortage of equipment, such as the machine to check the blood pressure of the patients, as well as an oxygen machine.”
Hospital operations manager Happy Masete denied that there were shortages of medication at the facility.
“In response to your concern about the purported medication shortage, our organisation is not aware of or directly affected by it. We are a multifaceted company that does not rely on a single supplier for any form of medication provided to our patients,” said Masete.
“It is not true and, even if it was, these people are frail and they are not able to attack a person.
“We are sourcing our medicines from our suppliers and not from the health department or social development.
“They, however, support us to avoid shortages. “It is our first responsibility to ensure our patients’ well-being.
“We have sophisticated mechanisms in place to monitor and handle any issues with their mental health, and we can certify that your information has not had an unfavourable effect on our patients.
“It is also critical that we emphasise that we are not a mental health facility, but a frail care centre.”
He conceded that the company had some problems with salary payments and overtime, but he said they had addressed some of these.
He said the problems were caused by the fact that, when they were given the tender to run the hospital, the previous management had not properly handed over the details of the employees.
He said some of the employees had not received their overtime pay, but the company was “working on it”. – masokad@citizen.co.za
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