THE operations of the optometry department at Wentworth Hospital Gateway Clinic have come under fire, after it was revealed that 300 patients have been waiting for almost six months to be issued with spectacles, among other concerns.
In a recent response to a written parliamentary question by the DA, Dr Joe Phaahla, the Minister of Health, revealed that according to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, the reason for the backlog was due to the budget for spectacles being exhausted in October 2022.
Phaahla further revealed that there are no optometrists employed at the clinic, and that the facility receives support from a visiting optometrist once a week. There is also only one ophthalmic nurse at the clinic.
He said the hospital had no budget to fill optometrist positions, however, the department continues to advocate for funds to address this problem.
“The budget allocated to the hospital over the past years was insufficient to create new posts. The hospital has included the filling of the optometrist post in the budget bid for 2023/ 24, and additional funds for spectacles have also been requested,” he said.
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Michele Clarke, the DA’s Shadow Minister of Health, said the party wrote to professor Malegapuru Makgoba, the Health Ombudsman of South Africa, requesting an investigation into possible maladministration at the clinic on March 24.
In a statement, Clarke said, “This is the type of unaddressed systemic issues that will be exacerbated by the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill. Unless the ANC government is prepared to systematically upgrade and maintain health facilities and capacitate them with staff and equipment, the NHI does not have any hope of success. While much lip service is being paid to this, the reality is that hospitals and clinics are in perpetual decline.
“This is the chronic state of the ANC government – policies that promises the world on paper, but fails to take into account the reality on the ground and ultimately fails due to lack of political will to address the systemic issues created by other failed and failing ANC policies.
“The NHI Bill will be no different. It will not be Minister Phaahla and his comrades that suffer the consequences, but the be poor and vulnerable communities that have to rely on public health facilities like Wentworth Hospital Gateway Clinic that will once again bear the brunt of the ANC’s short-sightedness,” she said.
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