‘If you don’t want to help us, close your doors’
Irate parents and patients who have been left destitute at the Rethabile Clinic have once again contacted Review claiming they have been left unattended for hours – even days – at a time.
POLOKWANE – Complaints include a lack of staff, patients left unattended, women requested to bring their own pregnancy tests to the clinic as well as a fraudulent doctor who was arrested at the clinic.
Review visited the clinic on Tuesday and found many of the claims true as there were several women in the waiting room with no one attending to their needs. A mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said she took her nine-month-old son to the clinic on Sunday as she suspected he had laryngitis. She claims the medication he was prescribed worsened his condition.
In an earlier issue, Review reported the clinic was short staffed but according to patients, nurses walk around aimlessly and take extended lunch breaks while patients sit waiting for help. Complaints regarding the attitude of receptionists, line marshals, and nurses are rife.
“One of the nurses told me she couldn’t assist me as she was on her lunch break,” one patient said. Many others claim after waiting a full day for assistance, they were told to return the next day with no assurance that they would get help.
Task team to tackle issues at clinic
According to the Spokesperson for the Department of Health, Derick Kganyago, the department acknowledges that there are several problems at Rethabile Clinic.
“We understand that there are many issues with the nurses at the clinic and we do not condone their attitudes or the way they treat the patients at all,” he said.
Kganyago explained the clininc has four permanent and one part-time doctor on call during the day. He added many of the nurses have complained about their work-load and say they get no job satisfaction when they are overworked. He said they have witnessed the staff’s dismissive attitudes first hand and have told all the nurses if they are unhappy with their jobs, the department will accept their resignations and appoint nurses who want to do their jobs.
MEC of Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba told Review exclusively the department cannot say they are understaffed at the clinic, as it is a case of people not doing their jobs. “Stronger leadership is needed and the department has set up a team of Public Health Specialists to deal with chain management,” she said. “The team will be deployed to Rethabile Clinic to help with the issues in the hope that we will get to the crux of the matter,” she concluded.
Read more:
Patients told to pretend they’ve been assisted
Clinic staff disregard well-being of pregnant patients
‘Illegal strike’ leaves Rethabile patients stranded
Patients left to own mercy at Rethabile
Lack of medicine at Rethabile Clinic
