LIMPOPO – This issue came to light after a complaint from a resident who called the ambulance service on Saturday evening.
The man was told there was only one operational ambulance and they could not offer any assistance.
Langa Bodlani (MPL), DA shadow spokesperson on health, said this brought to question how many people in need of emergency medical attention had been left unattended.
“People cannot receive medical assistance or get quality healthcare as this single ambulance is inundated,” said Bodlani.
We call on MEC for health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba to intervene with immediate effect
Meanwhile, Bodlani said they were saddened by the death of an eight-month-old baby who passed away because the 24-hour Indermark Clinic, which was supposed to help her, was closed.
“The family say their baby would have been alive if Indermark Clinic was open for consultation as it was required. The baby girl fell ill on Sunday evening and developed breathing problems.
“She was taken to the clinic around 22:00. The mother and the neighbour were told by the clinic’s security guards that there was no one inside the clinic to help them. They were sent home without any help. When the baby’s condition deteriorated, they called an ambulance in the early hours of Monday morning. However, the EMS personnel arrived empty handed, with no medical kit and used a cell phone light to check her sight. She was declared dead.”
A nurse at the clinic confirmed the clinic was indeed a 24-hour health service but they had to close because they were short-staffed.
Spokesperson for the health department, Derick Kganyago, said Musina has a staffing problem, and an audit is being done to ensure each EMS station has the required number of staff.
“In Musina, two ambulances were working during the day and only one was operating during the night due to staff shortages. The same is happening in our clinics, where 24-hour service clinics are no longer operational during the night. Most professional nurses working in clinics have retired and posts have been advertised so that the operations can return to normal,” he said.
Kganyago didn’t dispute or confirm the allegations raised by a source that most of the ambulance drivers were suspended at the beginning of the year for using ambulances for personal errands.
The source told CV the suspended drivers would face disciplinary hearings at month end.
