Legal action is being threatened by the Democratic Nursing Union of South Africa against the Eastern Cape Health Department amid concerns over the security and safety of staff at government facilities, and the department’s “total disregard for the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)”.
This follows a number of crimes at public health facilities in the province, with the union saying nurses are working in dangerous conditions, writes Luvuyo Mehlwana for Spotlight.
Assaults, robberies, vandalism
In January, electricity cables stolen from Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London plunged the building into darkness, causing huge disruptions and resulting in outpatients and Caesarean section patients being moved to Frere Hospital, while 15 corpses had to be transported to the Mdantsane forensic department.
Eastern Cape Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth said there were numerous cases of criminals targeting health facilities. Dordrecht Hospital was also the victim of municipal cable theft, as was Marjorie Parrish TB Hospital in Port Alfred, while Fort Beaufort Hospital’s copper piping was stolen from the theatre ablution section. And at Zithulele Hospital on Christmas Day, a nurse was shot dead at the hospital, leaving other staff traumatised.
Additionally, said Meth, staff at KwaDwesi Clinic and Tshangana Clinic had also been robbed and a burglary reported at the Gqeberha Lilitha Nursing College where “13 electrical plugs and switches were stripped”. “Sound system wiring and wiring from toilets to passages was also stolen.”
In April, a truck delivering medication in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro was hijacked while offloading medication at NU 8 Clinic in Motherwell.
Security a ‘priority’
There have been 120 burglaries at health facilities in Nelson Mandela Bay in the past 22 months, and from 11 September last year until February this year, the department recorded four assaults on staff.
In her budget speech in March, Meth said the department was awarded an incentive grant of R78.8m as a “recognition of compliance with the conditions of the Health Facilities Revitalisation Grant”.
“The department will utilise this budget to upgrade security to safeguard our patients, staff, and assets,” Meth said, without elaborating on the planned security upgrades.
Spotlight asked Eastern Cape Health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda for details about this, but she merely referred us to the department’s website for details of the tenders awarded. The last tender for security was for 64 guards for 24-hour security at Frere Hospital, published in July last year.
But Dekeda did concede, however, that security was a huge concern.
“That is why the department plans, in the medium- to long term, to establish a hybrid of physical security guards and automated systems, like CCTV cameras, automated entrance systems, and alarms.
“Nelson Mandela Bay is one of the districts prioritised to pilot this solution because of its high crime rate. The department is working closely with the police as security guards cannot be armed due to the environment.”
Spotlight visited several hospitals and clinics in the region, and at many facilities found security guards at the gates who searched vehicles but did not always check visitors for weapons.
At Livingstone, Dora Nginza, and Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospitals, there are security guards at almost every corner and visitors are sometimes scanned with a metal detector.
Calls to beef up security
Referring to an incident at Cradock Hospital in February, Denosa’s provincial secretary, Veli Sinqana, said: “A man forcefully entered the hospital and brutally attacked a nurse – and also injured the security guard… this is not the first time and there continues not to be any improvements. Denosa is consulting its legal department for possible action regarding the department’s negligence and total disregard for the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).”
EFF Member of the Eastern Cape Legislature Zilindile Vena urged the provincial government to beef up security.
“We are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of patients and staff in every provincial clinic and hospital in the province, particularly in Nelson Mandela Bay. The high level of crime is a cause for concern. For example, no one knew the truck that was hijacked in Motherwell had medication, except workers. Nobody will take a weapon and hijack a truck without knowing what’s inside.”
Scared to come to work
A nurse at the Motherwell Community Health Centre said, “Working (the) night shift is a challenge, especially on weekends. We need to treat intoxicated and aggressive patients who are accompanied by their friends. Sometimes they ask us to drop everything and take care of them first and if we refuse, we are threatened or assaulted.
“We are scared to come to work …. Gunshot injuries have increased in Motherwell … our security guards are not armed if anyone comes in. It is time the department allowed security guards to be armed. They also come under attack when they try to help us.”
Another said: “Despite several attacks on nurses, little has been done by the department. We have security guards in the casualty ward, but they are not up to the task, as they are not armed. They only have pepper spray and a baton.”
A security guard, told Spotllght many clinics in Nelson Mandela Bay have no night shift guards. “The few that do typically have only one or two guards, making them a vulnerable target for criminals. Our job is to observe and if we see potential danger, we call the police for backup, as we can’t confront thugs,” he said.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Union urges stricter security after nurse killed in Eastern Cape hospital
Union highlights ‘dismal’ security at Eastern Cape hospitals
Spate of attacks reveal training failure of hospital security guards
4 ambulances stoned and petrol bombed by Eastern Cape protestors