A female doctor was attacked by a patient last Thursday at the Lillian Ngoyi Clinic in Soweto, which has also suffered from power cuts as its generators fail to work.
The busy clinic, next to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, has only a skeleton security staff since security contracts expired this year.
Writing in PoliticsWeb, Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, said last week’s incident, in which the doctor suffered injuries to her hand, follows other security problems at the clinic.
"Services at the clinic have been limited for the past three weeks because of the security and power issues. The x-ray department and the pharmacy have had to close for extended periods because the generator has run out of diesel. Certain specialised tests also cannot be performed with the unreliable power. Staff have raised issues repeatedly with management but there has been no improvement in this dire situation where they live in fear and patients get poor treatment."
Bloom said he has alerted Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi to the situation.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Calls for improved hospital safety following hijacking and attempted rape of doctor
Attacks on doctors highlight security dangers in state hospitals
Spate of attacks reveal training failure of hospital security guards