Thursday, 28 March, 2024
HomeNews UpdateVital equipment not functioning at military hospital – patients turned away

Vital equipment not functioning at military hospital – patients turned away

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is investigating allegations that Wynberg 2 Military Hospital in Cape Town is turning patients away because of broken medical equipment, including X-ray machines, being out of order.

News24 reports that on Monday, Glenda Pontes was turned away when she went to the hospital for X-rays because she was struggling to breathe. She was told the machines were out of order.

She said a staff member told her three people had been transferred to other facilities because vital machinery was not operational.

She said she and her husband had contributed to the military medical fund for close to 40 years, so the situation was a concern for them.

A nurse, who spoke to News24 on condition of anonymity, said the hospital has been without medical equipment for a few weeks.

“There were rumours going around that they might close the hospital permanently, which is very sad because we all rely heavily on these jobs. But as of yet, management has had no conversations with the staff,” she said.

SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said: “The matter has been brought to the attention of the Surgeon-General and is being attended to through the internal procurement system to enable the health facilities to function optimally with operational medical equipment.”

Dlamini denied the military health facilities will close “as they continue to provide the service to the members”.

 

News24 article – Patients turned away from Cape Town military hospital after medical equipment breaks down (Open access)

 

See more from MedicalBrief archives:

 

SANDF’s military hospitals now ‘in intensive care’

 

1 Military Hospital: Top officials liable for R156m in irregular expenditure

 

1 Military Hospital loses UN and AU accreditation

 

 

 

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