A man who was apparently fed up with his four-hour wait at a clinic while nurses sat and chatted over lunch, lost his temper and threw a plastic container of urine at them last week, with Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko condemning the attack as “inhumane and vulgar”.
A video seen by IOL shows an angry man confronting the staff who are sitting at a table. One of the women is eating, while the others are talking to the man.
At the end of the video the man, whose face is not seen in the video, tosses a plastic container at them, filled with what has been since been identified as urine.
Gauteng Health authorities said the incident happened on Friday at the Calcot Dlephu Clinic during the workers’ lunch break.
“Irrespective of the complaint against the health workers, this cannot justify the attack … It is uncalled for and we condemn this vulgar act in the strongest possible terms,” said the MEC.
She said there were “recourse mechanisms” such as escalating complaints and allegations to quality assurance staff or the facility’s manager, and said she has directed the department to investigate the matter and establish the facts.
Recently Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba made being filmed while berating senior managers at Rethabile Clinic in Polokwane for sitting idle while patients waited in long queues.
She had slammed one manager for going on lunch during a “disaster” at the clinic, saying service delivery “should be prioritised at all times”.
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