In a Marie Antoinette-style “let them eat cake” PR disaster, the head of Gauteng Health has come in for scathing criticism after denying that provincial hospitals have an overcrowding crisis, and saying that some patients “simply prefer sleeping on the floor”.
MedicalBrief reports that Health & Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko’s “thoughtless, cynical, heartless and heartbreaking” comments comes shortly after she hailed the return of the suspended former head of her department to work despite his having been flagged by the Special Investigating Unit (see story below).
The hospital beds comment has led to DA Gauteng shadow MEC for Health Jack Bloom calling for Nkomo-Ralehoko to be fired, and former Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa saying “no amount of PR” will save her, reports The Citizen.
In an interview with the Sunday Times last week, the MEC denied claims that provincial hospitals have an overcrowding crisis, saying the department was “managing the situation”.
“The problem is big, but …at no stage were people sleeping on the floor. I have not seen people sleeping on the floor, because even now we are buying beds. In fact, we are even taking some of the beds to the clinics.”
She was adamant that some patients preferred sleeping on the floor, claiming she had encountered this phenomenon with pregnant women.
“Did you know that when you are sick, you want to lie down? Especially when you are pregnant and want to deliver and are in pain, you go down and sleep on the floor. The patients will say, ‘Leave me – I want to sleep on the floor’. To you, it’s just people who are sleeping on the floor, because you come and steal that with your camera.
“There was an old lady who was crawling. Did you know that the old lady had been given a wheelchair, but she didn’t want it? She was in pain, but … the reason she was crawling on the floor was not because there was no wheelchair available.”
Bloom told The Citizen that these remarks show how out of touch Nkomo-Ralehoko is with the reality of most people who use public hospitals.
“This is outrageous … Many patients spend days in casualty waiting to be admitted to a ward.
“Last week, I intervened when a patient at Bheki Mlangeni Hospital was in casualty for a week before being admitted,” he said.
“Panyaza Lesufi should fire his arrogant Health MEC and replace her with a competent person who does not deny obvious problems in our hospitals and clinics,” he added.
Hospital infections
Nkomo-Ralehoko should be concerned about patients contracting infections and diseases while sleeping on hospital floors, he warned.
“Over-crowding will lead to cross-infection. There are people stuck in casualty with all sorts of conditions and it’s a hazard.”
While denying a hospital bed shortage, the MEC also noted that the department recently, for instance, distributed 250 beds in Vereeniging. She said in some cases, the problem was that the facility in question was small. However, the department had a referral system to transport patients to hospitals with available beds.
She accused journalists of pushing a narrative that hospitals were overcrowded and lacked beds, telling the Sunday Times she had decided to bar journalists from taking pictures at hospitals.
“That is why I always say I don’t want journalists in my hospitals, because you take photos of something you assume. You work on assumptions in most cases.
“So regarding this problem of overcrowding, I (now) have a referral policy. I have a dashboard here on the 15th floor that tells me where the beds are. It tells which facilities have no beds. You (would not) take a patient (to a hospital) where you knew there were no beds, unless you were malicious,” she said.
The department was busy with renovations at most hospitals, she said, and of the 37 in the province, fewer than 10 needed refurbishment.
She said that while she was working to improve hospitals, her department needed more funds.
“We are using the grant we get from the national government. The equitable share is very small – less than R2bn for infrastructure refurbishing and renovating – but we have already made a huge difference.
“Just go to Bertha Gxowa Hospital, and you will see the best hospital. Go to Mamelodi – it’s competing with private hospitals …
“We are changing the face of our clinics. There are now doctors on site, not just doctors who come in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There has been a huge improvement, but unfortunately … Gautengers don’t appreciate that. They don’t see it, but at some stage they will.”
But a scarcity of beds is not the only problem in Gauteng hospitals, according to Bloom, who said there are also linen shortages, and some patients are forced to take their own blankets and linen with them when they are admitted.
In a Daily Dispatch opinion article, political analyst Justice Malala said while it was tempting to demand that the Lesufi fire Nkomo-Ralehoko immediately and that she be censured in the strongest terms by the ANC, it would useless and would not elicit any action from her boss or her party.
That was because precious few in the ANC today see any problem here, Malala said.
“The acts of corruption (think Tembisa Hospital), where more than R2bn has been looted by ANC-affiliated cadres) and incompetence in Nkomo-Ralehoko’s department are not an aberration, they are the norm.
”Individuals like her, people who blame the victim and the media instead of addressing the problems that SA’s people face, are the party leaders now.
”What is at stake in SA is not just about the money that’s being stolen and lost through corruption and incompetence.
”What’s at stake is the fact that greed, cynicism and cruelty now rule above all else.
”We now have a country where the lowest (the poorest) are asked to believe a lie that all is fine at Gauteng hospitals when many can tell you from lived experience that people have to and still do sleep on the floor and that in many, rats and cockroaches run rampant.
”Nkomo-Ralehoko wants us to disbelieve what we can see with our own eyes," Malala added, labelling the MEC as heartless, cynical and thoughtless.
Last week, Nkomo-Ralehoko came out strongly in defence of Malotana, calling him “the best leader the department has ever seen”, despite the lifestyle audit that flagged him as high-risk, reports Central News.
Lesufi had placed Malotana on suspension in October amid an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into tender corruption within the department and poor performance, including underspending of R725m in the previous financial year.
However, Lesufi brought him back to work as a senior manager in the Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs this month, as his 60-day suspension period lapsed before charges had been laid against him.
The SIU’s probe had pointed to R1.6m in cash payments into his bank accounts that looked questionable, raising suspicions of hidden sources.
Malotana, who took the top job in June 2024, faced the claims while already under the microscope for other issues, including alleged links to millions of rands siphoned off in the gigantic Tembisa Hospital scandal.
Despite this, Nkomo-Ralehoko has stood by him, saying he has done more good than any past leader. She brushed off the high-risk tag as not enough to overshadow his work in steadying the department during hard times. Critics say this defence ignores the need for spotless records in a role handling billions in public health money.
The MEC herself has come under fire for how she has handled recent allegations, including of patient neglect, and her strong support for Malotana adds fuel to those who say loyalty appears to be trumping good governance.
Opposition parties have ramped up calls to fire both Nkomo-Ralehoko and Malotana, saying the department needs fresh starts to turn around.
Central News – Gauteng Health MEC Backs Lesiba Malotana Despite High-Risk Flag-Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Rahima Moosa Hospital again under fire over patient treatment
Edenvale Hospital pregnant women sleeping on floor ‘a space issue, not negligence'
Outpatients sleep on floors for days at top Bloemfontein hospital
SA needs R200bn to fix hospitals before NHI roll-out, says Phaahla