Complaints of bad service at Bloem military hospital
Complaints have recently streamed in regarding bad service at the hospital. Those in charge deny these claims.
Image: Civilsonline
Three Military Hospital in Bloemfontein have recently received an influx of complaints, reports Bloemfontein Courant.
The complaints range from doctors who are constantly on tea breaks or on their cellphones, to “unpleasant and unfriendly personnel that are too lazy to do their jobs”. Outsourced personnel were also complained about after it was found that they did not follow protocol during certain procedures, such as taking blood from patients.
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Another issue raised was that the pharmacy was not up to standard, and did not have stock of medication required by patients.
Aide-de-camp Capt S.E. Pula responded to the complaints, explaining to Bloemfontein Courant that “people are not aware that my door is always open for complaints, and I will do everything in my power to solve the problem”.
“When I started here in 2015, there were already about 31 complaints on the list. Today there are only five,” she explained.
The officer in command, Colonel WC Hendricks, told Bloemfontein Courant there was no indication of complaints regarding rude personnel, and that if people wanted to lay a complaint, they must follow the appropriate procedures.
“If the complaint comes to me, then there will be trouble. I do not tolerate people who do not deliver adequate services. The waiting time to see a doctor has decreased drastically. There were only two doctors on duty, and now there are five. The only delays would be if a person is in desperate need of medical attention, and is seen before other patients,” Hendricks explained.
Hendricks that the pharmacy has been functioning well, and although there is not always all the medication required, waiting times these days are usually 15 minutes, where in the past it was between two and three hours.
“If the medication is not in stock, patients can buy it at MediRite in Checkers or Shoprite, and they will be reimbursed.”
He also said that elderly patients with repeat prescriptions did not need to queue for medication. “If the patient lives within a radius of 20km from the hospital, the medication is delivered to them.”
Hendricks has invited the unhappy patients to speak to Pula, and to lay a written complaint so that the situation may be resolved.
This article was translated from Afrikaans.
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