Note to Editors: Please find an English soundbite by Haseena Ismail MP here
Please find pictures here, here and here
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is appalled at the state of the Jabulani Dumane Clinic CHC, in Ekurhuleni. What’s meant to be a 24/7 facility that serves about 9 000 to 10 000 patients per month find themselves at the mercy of alarming shortages and infrastructure challenges.
The issues the clinic faces range from staffing- to medicine and equipment shortages. It is our view that this clinic alongside the people it is meant to serve has been left to rot. If this is the Gauteng Department of Health’s version of “quality health services and ensure a caring climate for service users” they should bow their heads in shame.
The clinics issues are wide ranging, and after engagements with staff, and a prolonged oversight visit we can confirm the following:
Staffing shortages are a problem
- Nurses are forced to work double shifts due to insufficient staffing;
- Critical shortages in professional nurses, enrolled nurses, and pharmacists; and
- Inadequate administrative support, with only 8 admin clerks and 4 data capture staff
Medication and Equipment Shortages
- Chronic shortages of medication, including antibiotics; and
- Insufficient equipment, including a lack of functional X-ray facilities
Infrastructure Challenges
- Leaking building, with reported issues still unresolved;
- Uncompleted ceiling work, reported late last year;
- Non-functional geysers and ablution facilities in need of maintenance; and
- Broken windows, including those in the screening room, dental passage, and in the main entrance door
Alongside these issues, things that might seem small to the department is a serious cause for concern, like doors to maternity wards that can’t lock, a small waiting area that is easily overcrowded and admin rooms that do not have a whiff of ventilation.
All these examples make a visit to the Jabulani Dumane Clinic not only unappealing, but also a health hazard in and of itself. We will be holding the Health MEC and the Gauteng Department of Health accountable for their failings in the Gauteng Provincial legislature.
But the most pressing question we have, is whether any member of the Gauteng Executive would be willing to be treated in this clinic? We urge the Gauteng Department of Health to take immediate action to address these critical shortages and infrastructure challenges. The people of Vosloorus deserve access to quality healthcare services in a safe and dignified environment.