Nonhlakanipho Nedzamba, the stakeholder liaison officer for the office of the MMC Health and Social Development, wishes to apologise to the community of River Park for the disruption of services at the River Park Clinic from 26 January to 2 February.
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“An amicable resolution has been reached with the community and the political leadership of River Park, following disrupted operations by a small group of community members, leading to the ultimate closure of the clinic. This was the result of allegations that the City’s recruitment processes were flawed when recruiting for staff at the River Park Clinic,” said Nedzamba.
Numerous protests and allegations of flawed recruitment processes by City officials at the clinic resulted in Nedzamba meeting with community representatives, the ward councillor and officials on 27 January. The meeting, which was preceded by hostility by some of the members of a group that identified themselves as the community representatives, was followed by a list of demands that were to ultimately determine the fate of the continuation of clinic operations.
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“The community representatives informed us that should we not accede to these demands, the majority of which were unlawful, the clinic would not open,” said Nedzamba.
A follow-up meeting was held on 1 February with the ward and area councillors, together with the community representatives, and a consensus had been reached. The resolution was that the community health workers would be recruited from the community, but people should still go through an interview process. In terms of the National Health Insurance principles, the ward-based community health workers must reside in the ward where they will be working, as well as comply with the set criteria.
The advertisements for recruitment are already on display at the clinic and community members are welcome to apply.
“The clinic has 25 consulting rooms and renders comprehensive primary health care services. It was built in 2015 and was handed over by the Johannesburg Development Agency at the end of 2016. We look forward to officially launching the clinic later this month,” concluded Nedzamba.
Details: 011 407 6725 or 072 596 9508, email nonhlakaniphom@joburg.org.za
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