15 June 2007
The Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal condemns the strikers' blatant
disrespect for patients' lives and their continued "bomb scare" threats that
disrupt our services. At least two bomb scares were reported in hospitals,
including Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital and Wentworth, yesterday. This
resulted to an unnecessary movement of patients and staff to search for the
alleged bombs in the hospitals, draining the energy of the staff at the
institutions.
This habit is callous and also puts the lives of the patients at risk.
Anyone found doing it will be dealt with harshly. We call upon unions to
condemn this atrocity.
With the latest staff complement at institutions standing between 80% and
90%, I would like to thank our employees for heeding the call to return to
work. We encourage those that are still on strike to return to their
workstations so that we will entrench our motto: 'Fight Diseases! Fighting
Poverty! Giving Hope! to our people.'
Our healthcare facilities are open and we encourage our people to bring
their beloved ones whose health is weak. All our institutions are safe and will
gladly receive patients and serve them.
We would like to commend the members of the South African Police Service
(SAPS) for their sterling effort to protect our institutions throughout the
strike. We applaud their effort yesterday where they arrested four hostile
protesters at Sundumbili Community Health Care. The SAPS members had to fire
rubber bullets to defend the institution, staff and patients from the unruly
protesters.
The department wishes to announce that it has come up with a hotline number
for people to know how their relatives are doing in our hospitals. Anyone who
wishes to know how a patient is doing at hospital can call 0800 005 133. The
Operation Centre will call the hospital and make enquiries about the patient
and call the relative back home with information. This facility will save
relatives from the trouble of going through the protesters' intimidation at the
gates of the hospitals.
Enquiries:
Mr Leon Mbangwa
General Manager: Corporate Communication
Cell: 083 459 8695
Mr Nhlanhla Nkosi
Cell: 083 459 1922
Issued by: Department of Health, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
15 June 2007
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government (http://www.kwazulunatal.gov.za/)
