The ongoing failure by the Northern Cape Department of Health to address the critical shortage of nurses in the province, is having a detrimental impact on especially emergency medical services in Warrenton.
A recent incident earlier in February, whereby a victim of crime was shut out from medical care, has echoed just how dire the problem is actually becoming. This comes after a young, disabled woman, who was attacked while tending her garden, could not receive the necessary treatment or medication. The woman was taken to hospital by her elderly parents, only for her and her family to be met by the security at the gate who told them that there were no personnel or nurses to assist them and that she was merely securing the building. The traumatised family then had to call upon a local doctor to assist them, at a cost to the parents who are SASSA grant recipients.
On a subsequent oversight inspection to the Community Health Centre (CHC), I determined that the facility is meant to have a casualty section which operates 24/7, however, following a meeting with respective unions and the department, a resolution was taken that the staff would only work until 4pm each day, until such time as the Department of Health can provide the hospital with more nurses.
The situation is sad and unacceptable and paints a picture of a health system in decay. A once proud and fully operational 24-hour hospital, servicing a population of about 24 042, is now downgraded to a dysfunctional clinic.
The citizens suffering the most are the poorest of the poor, who cannot afford a doctor and who cannot wait for an ambulance to eventually take them to the nearest hospital in Jan Kempdorp, which is another 25 kilometres, or Hartswater which is 40 kilometres away.
The DA has written to the MEC of Health, Maruping Lekwene, appealing to him to urgently attend to the level of available health services in Warrenton. What is happening here is a failure of the health system and an infringement on the rights of the people of Warrenton to access health care.