Rudeness at Springs Clinic has to be addressed

Springs resident Bettie Mbatha was extremely impressed with the news of optometry services offered at the Springs Clinic.

But on the day she visited the clinic to have her eye screening test done, she only experienced rudeness from one of the clinic staff,

When she visited the clinic on November 1, to see the optometrist, she was disappointed at the way she was treated.

“My excitement changed into complete shock and disappointment when one of the clinic staff told me to go see a private optometrist as the optometrist is not at the clinic,” says Mbatha.

She claims the woman was so rude to her that she lost her cool and left the clinic without taking her appointment card with her.

However, when she returned a few minutes later to fetch her card the optometrist was there and an eye screening test was done.

She feels the clinic staff needs to be patient with the people and give them the correct answers and information.

According to metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe, optometry services are provided by the Gauteng Department of Health free of charge every Wednesday.

“The personnel at the clinic have been reprimanded to ensure the patients are given the correct information when enquiring about services rendered,” he says.

He says they were also instructed to refer enquiries to the chief professional nurse in charge at the clinic.

Gadebe says all the staff at the clinic are trained on Batho Pele principles and the Patient’s Rights Charter and they have an obligation to comply with the professional code of conduct.

He says they have reminded the clinic staff of this code of conduct again which indicates patients should always be treated with courtesy.

“As far as the optometry services are concerned, once the screening has been conducted, patients will receive intervention based on the test results,” says Gadebe.