Residents getting primary health care at Mamelodi West Clinic, especially senior citizens, complain they are being turned away at the clinic because it is short-staffed.
They claimed they woke up as early as 04:00 to stand in long lines at the clinic for medical care, only to be turned away and told to come back the next day.
People wake up early to stand in long lines just to be first in line when the door opens because the chances of getting help after 13:00 are slim.
Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said patients are discouraged.
The clinic only opens at 07:30.
He said if their condition worsens, there won’t be anybody to assist them before the clinic opens.
“Patients are not supposed to report as early as 04:00, as it is a risk to their safety. An appointment system is in place where patients are distributed throughout the day and the week,” said Mashigo.
“The clinic opens at 07:30 and staff starts working then. It closes at 16:00 and staff do overlap after 16:00 to finish patients that were already present in the clinic,” he said.
Oupa Mtshweni from the Mamelodi Concerned Residents Association said it’s been a year that residents have been complaining about the clinic.
“We have one clinic in Mamelodi West and Mamelodi East; they have four clinics; currently, they are building the fifth clinic in the Lusaka area.”
He said among the five clinics in Mamelodi East, one is a 24-hour clinic.
“We have been pleading with Tshwane metro to build Mamelodi West residents a 24-hour clinic to avoid these long queues, turning away of patients, and addressing the issue of a shortage of staff,” said Mtshweni.
He said the waiting period for patients to get help at the clinic in Mamelodi West is 90 minutes, but patients who arrive in the early hours are still turned away at around 13:00.
“Some people have resorted to visiting other clinics in Mamelodi East, Eersterust, and Nellmapius,” he added.
Mtshweni said the worst is still to come because winter is around the corner and patients will be freezing outside the clinic for hours, just to be turned away.
He also said they even suggested that the clinic open for patients to get warm in the morning, but that has never happened up to date.
“We call on the Gauteng health department to intervene with the issues of the clinic, especially the demand for a 24-hour clinic like Stanza Bopape Clinic in Mamelodi East.”
A pensioner and patient at the clinic, Josephina Tsiane, said not everyone who comes to the clinic early in the morning will get help; some are told to go back and come back the next day.
“If they could organise mobile clinics for senior citizens and hire more staff members, the community would be satisfied,” she said.
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