Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein used to be one of the province’s foremost public health facilities, but it has slid into the same state as many other former first class hospitals, notes MedicalBrief, with no staff, long queues and dysfunctional infrastructure.
Conditions are appalling, reports a News24 team – which spent several hours at the casualty ward and in the admission area recently – with one doctor on duty, nurses struggling with the workload, and patients waiting for days to be treated.
One 66-year-old woman, with breast cancer, arrived at the hospital on a Friday afternoon seeking medical attention after a fall which had bruised her right breast.
However, a nurse told her that as there was only one doctor on duty and because she wasn’t as ill as other patients waiting for treatment, she would probably only get help only on Sunday or Monday.
She opted to stay at the hospital, sleeping on a cold steel bench, covered only with a blanket.
Several other patients in the admission hall had been waiting since Wednesday, according to relatives who relied on vendors outside to buy food for them.
These patients told News24 they feared losing their place in the queue if they returned home to wash or eat.
In the waiting area at the nearby casualty ward, people also slept on the floor while others slept on steel benches.
There were no taps in the bathroom for people with disabilities, while one of the women’s toilets didn’t work.
Free State Health spokesperson Mondli Mvambi said it was not uncommon for the casualty ward to be overwhelmed over weekends, and that staff did their best under difficult circumstances.
He also noted that the high volume of patients in casualty was due to the winter season, which was was typified by an increase in respiratory-related illnesses.
Mvambi said to offload the burden from Pelonomi, the Health Department had decided that the Heidedal Clinic would operate 24/7.
“In addition, the Omolemo Covid-19 ward had been opened to decrease the overload from casualty and the maternity ward,” he said.
History of crumbling infrastructure
In July last year, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) inspected various public health facilities in the Free State, including Pelonomi Hospital.
At the time, SAHRC provincial manager Thabang Kheswa said Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu and QwaQwa residents had, for years, contended with dilapidated, old leaking buildings and furnishings, while lack of maintenance had caused endless discomfort for patients.
The SAHRC also raised issues about the maternity ward at Pelonomi, which had been under construction for almost a decade; and where nurses protested in 2018 over staff shortages after a woman died in the maternity ward.
Then Free State Health MEC Montsheng Tsiu promised all identified issues would receive attention.
The provincial department did not reply to questions about whether the SAHRC’s concerns had been addressed.
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