Mothers told to undress babies in queue

POLOKWANE – Mothers who take their children to Rethabile Clinic for healthcare say the service delivery at the clinic leaves a lot to be desired.

Some mothers claimed they were expected to undress their children while waiting in the queue to see the sister or doctor.

“Just because our children are young, does not mean they do not have rights. It is wrong for the nurses and sisters to expect us to undress our children in public. They have the nerve to tell us that we take too long to undress our children in the consulting room, that is why we must undress our children before going in, because this will save time,” one mother said.

Another outraged mother claimed that they were also not given time to dress their children again after the consultation.

“When the sister is done with your child she asks you to leave the room and dress the child outside, so that she can see the next patient. ‘The personnel at the clinic have no heart, they treat us with no respect and are very rude, I am sure that they will not treat their own family in this way. The government promises good and quality healthcare for all, but this is not what a you get when you visit Rethabile Clinic,” the mother said.

Another complaint at the clinic was that there was a shortage of needles. Some patients who were scheduled for blood tests last week, claimed that it took two days before they were helped.

“It happened twice last week. We waited in the queue for hours just to be told to come back the next day,” the patients explained.

The people who spoke to Review did so on condition of anonymity as they were afraid they would be victimised or discriminated against when they next returned to the clinic. Department of health spokesperson, Macks Lesufi, said the department would investigate the situation and respond.