MOKOPANE – The doors of Voortrekker Hospital are open again.
Department of Health Spokesperson, Thabiso Teffo, said they were aware that the medical staff were on strike. “We had a meeting Tuesday with management of the hospital and Nehawu Limpopo and agreed the medical staff would return to work. Personnel from the MEC’s office will visit the hospital and monitor the process when the medical staff return.”
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Bosveld visited the hospital Wednesday morning and found all the medical staff were back on duty.
Rose Kekana, Nehawu secretary in Limpopo, said only half of the medical staff’s demands were met.
“Today all medical staff are back on duty but I can not say what will happen tomorrow, because we did not fully agree on the terms.”
The Voortrekker Hospital was left abandoned since the start of the strike action last Wednesday. When Bosveld visited the hospital last Friday it was abandoned and there were no patients or medical staff in sight.
According to Kekana, the patients were transported late last Wednesday evening to other hospitals in the area.
“The management of Voortrekker Hospital did not even inform the next of kin. There are relatives who do not even know where their loved ones are,” Kekana said.
Bosveld had an interview with Cathrin Rafapa whose husband was admitted to Voortrekker Hospital for injuries he got in an accident last Tuesday. “I visited my husband on Wednesday and on Thursday morning when I got to the hospital he was no longer there and no one could tell me where my husband was,” she said.
Rafapa added she visited the hospital again on Friday to see if she could get some answers as to where her husband was transferred to but no one could tell her where he was. “I’m a pensioner and used my last few cents for transport to find my husband. I’m worried about where he is and I’m sure he’s worried about me too.”
Teffo refuted the claims that patients were transferred to other hospitals without notifying their next of kin. “When the medical staff went on strike it was in the best interest of the patients to be transported to hospitals where they will receive medical treatment.
“We could not leave the patients in the hospital without medical staff to look after them. Correct procedures were followed and the patients’ next of kin were informed of the transfer as well as the reason why the transfer was necessary,” he said.
redaksie.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za
