Despite Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane giving Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba a glowing performance review, saying her successes have been shadowed by “few incidents”, the deputy Public Protector said she was "shocked" by conditions she found in EC hospitals this week.
Mabuyane was quoted in the Sunday Times as saying that the public criticism of Gomba was unfair as her department is on par with other provinces in fighting COVID-19.
The report says this explains why Mabuyane, despite pressure from the public and within his own party, has refused to fire Gomba.
“She has tried her level best … the dedication that the MEC has shown is a very commendable one. I could say so far so good.
“Sometimes the criticism levelled against her is very much unfair … she has been a very dedicated and loyal servant of the people of the Eastern Cape.”
Mabuyane said the province’s 84% COVID recovery rate, less than 2% fatality rate and a reduced infection rate were attributed to Gomba and her team.
He said a project management unit, led by Dr Sibongile Zungu, had brought stability. “The system is stabilising. When we started, the system was feeling the shock of this. Everyone was showing anxiety and the front-line was scared of the virus. That’s the reasons we asked for soldiers to come in. We had time to beef up our team and bring this fortitude you need to fight this virus.”
“We are handling things better now,” said Mabuyane. “The system now has been calibrated. We are slowly getting there, but slowly.”
Deputy public protector, advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has found that patients at Livingstone Hospital in the Eastern Cape were fed "inadequate" food, and there was only one oxygen port at Uitenhage Provincial Hospital which was shared by scores of patients.
A state-of-the-art kitchen, built at Livingstone Hospital for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was last used 10 years ago because no one was hired to work there.
News24 reports that these discoveries were some of many Gcaleka said shocked her during a visit of Nelson Mandela Bay municipality health facilities.
The report says Gcaleka and her team of investigators were on a two-day visit in the Eastern Cape to investigate disturbing reports of crippled healthcare services at Livingstone Hospital, and other health facilities in Uitenhage, Mthatha and Qumbu.
News24 quotes Gcaleka as saying she noted that most challenges faced by Livingstone Hospital were caused by staff shortages and management instability. "The challenges faced by Livingstone and Uitenhage were somehow similar because Uitenhage is also hit by staff shortages. But what shocked me more was to find this kitchen that was being unused because there are no workers. It is wasteful expenditure. When I asked why they were not using the kitchen, I was told that it was for the 2010 soccer World Cup and that, for the past 10 years, they could not hire people to use the kitchen."
At Uitenhage's COVID-19 ward, a single oxygen machine was being shared by many patients, said Gcaleka. "The oxygen port is exchanged among many patients and another thing, it is impossible to observe COVID-19 regulations – there is not much room to practice social distancing."
"When we met the management of Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, they painted a picture that everything was under control. However, when we did a walkabout with unions and staff, they completely changed the picture. At Uitenhage there is a clear gap between management and workers."
Gcaleka said the management at the Uitenhage facility agreed in a meeting to address all the challenges, especially short-term ones.
"We appreciated the fact that, at Livingstone, there is good relationship between the management, board and unions. They all agreed that there were challenges faced by the hospital.”
News24 quotes her as saying most challenges faced by Livingstone Hospital were beyond their authority.
News24 reports that Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson Siyanda Manana said questions about the kitchen and other matters raised by Gcaleka would require them to investigate before they could comment.
Gcaleka took a tour of the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, where she encountered some unhappy healthcare workers, reports eNCA. They used the opportunity to pour out their frustrations over lack of access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and the overburdened healthcare system.
Gcaleka said, "from what we have seen so far here, and what the staff is saying, yes there are valid complaints. Unfortunately, I don't know if management might be aware of the challenges at a higher level. Some of the challenges that have been raised by staff were not raised by management. So clearly there is a gap between staff and management in respect of the issues that serve as a hindrance for service delivery."
Gcaleka said she will pass on her findings to the Health Minister so that the issues can be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
[link url="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/hospital-hell-deputy-public-protector-finds-eastern-cape-facilities-in-shocking-state-20200804"]Full News24 report[/link]
[link url="https://www.enca.com/news/public-protectors-office-inspects-ec-hospitals"]Full eNCA report[/link]
[link url="https://times-e-editions.pressreader.com/sunday-times?token=85aba8566bc3ad1f4d36fcd161e5d1d0a05d8177"]Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)[/link]