Civil case against Vryheid Hospital

Lolo Madonsela

Vryheid District Hospital (VDH) may find itself in hot water following an alleged Covid-19 negligence case.
The National Education, Health & Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) in the region opened a civil case against VDH on June 27, alleging that the hospital failed to adhere to Covid-19 precautions.
“We have opened a case against the employer for negligence on precautions of Covid-19, as no screening was being done at the hospital, and another factor was that some of the health officials who tested positive for Covid-19 were never sent to quarantine but were sent back to their work stations to continue work. Even after that, the place was not disinfected at the time; it was only done after we had gone there to intervene.

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“The hospital needs to comply with the regulations. What happened there does not end there, because nurses work with patients and patients go back home using public transport and ultimately mix with their family and the community at large; that leads to the spread of the virus. When you look at the stats in Vryheid, the number of hospital staff members is high. Vryheid might end up being an epicentre of the virus, therefore we have an obligation to take steps when we see something is not going accordingly,” said NEHAWU Deputy Regional Chairperson Ntokozo Nxumalo.
By last week Monday, nine health officials had tested positive for Covid-19 at VDH, and it commenced with tracing and screening of contacts over the weekend.
The Provincial Department of Health said it will investigate the matter to hear both sides of the story before commenting on the issue.
The Joint Operations Committee (JOC) on Covid-19 indicated that it was dissatisfied with VDH but could not comment further on the matter, as a civil case had already been opened by the Union.

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