South Africa: Nurses At Free State Clinic Cannot Deal with Sufferers When It Rains

The small, dilapidated clinic serves residents of Intabazwe, close to Harrismith – however it’s overwhelmed and under-stocked

• Employees and sufferers on the Intabazwe Clinic close to Harrismith, Free State, say the power is dilapidated and floods when it rains.
• Employees need the well being division to construct a second clinic locally after the one different clinic locally burnt down in 2016. The closure of this clinic resulted within the workload at Intabazwe Clinic doubling.
• The small prefabricated clinic at the moment serves individuals in Intabazwe. The ability is dilapidated and commonly is sufferer to theft and vandalism.

Employees and sufferers on the Intabazwe Clinic close to Harrismith, Free State, say the power is badly run down and floods when it rains. Employees say they should mop up water as an alternative of treating sufferers.

“I by no means thought I might work on this dilapidated clinic. I grew up coming to this clinic with my mom and the situations haven’t improved since then,” stated a nurse on the clinic, who requested to stay nameless.

The nurse stated that the clinic is short-staffed, inundated with administrative work and that clinic tools is incessantly stolen. Most of the home windows are damaged and doorways don’t shut correctly. Most workers should park exterior the premises, which isn’t at all times protected.

Intabazwe Clinic serves the Intabazwe neighborhood. The prefabricated clinic was constructed about 50 years in the past and designed to serve a a lot smaller inhabitants.

In 2016, Lesedi Clinic, the one different clinic locally, burnt down. Since then, the workload at Intabazwe Clinic has doubled. Employees say they’ve pleaded with the well being division to construct a second clinic locally to lighten their workload.

Fortunate Tshabalala, a pharmacy assistant on the clinic, stated they battle to disperse persistent medicine on time as a result of their orders are at all times delayed by at the very least a month. “In August we lastly obtained the medicine for hypertension (HBP) as a result of that was our main drawback within the dispensary. The final time we had a full bundle of HBP drugs was in April 2022.”

Tshabalala stated the clinic’s dispensary is just too small and inadequately stocked.

Resident Fikile Dlamini has been bringing her kids to the clinic for 5 years. She stated she has to overlook greater than in the future of labor as a result of they usually get turned away as a result of the clinic is just too full. Dlamani stated her six-month-old is but to be immunised towards measles as a result of she will be able to’t afford to overlook any extra work.

Girly Selepe, 51, stated the clinic wants higher safety. Selepe stated when the clinic is closed after a break-in, sufferers should spend R30 on a return taxi journey into neighbouring Harrismith, the place there are two public clinics and a public hospital.

When requested concerning the progress into the theft instances on the clinic, SAPS spokesperson in Thabo Mofutsanyana district, officer Mmako Mophiring, stated, “Individuals are likely to open instances, chill out and depart every part to the police. It’s their duty too as a result of the burglars are identified or suspected by the complainants.”

In August 2019, Gertrude Letooane, then DA councillor for Maluti-a-Phofung Native Municipality, visited Intabazwe Clinic and located dozens of sufferers standing round exterior ready to be helped. She stated affected person information had been stacked within the ready space. “Aside from it being a hearth hazard, these information comprise private and confidential info and must be secured,” she stated.

Letooane famous that the clinic was “completely overcrowded” and “severely understaffed”.

“The nurses personally hand out drugs to the sufferers after every examination, inflicting a slowdown within the quantity of sufferers seen every day. There’s a dire want for a social employee within the space, however such requests fall on the deaf ears of presidency,” she stated.

We despatched detailed inquiries to the Premier’s spokesperson Sello Pietersen on 11 August and a follow-up e mail the subsequent day. We messaged provincial well being spokesperson Mondi Mvambi on 15 August, who responded to us, saying the district director was trying into our enquiry. We despatched a reminder of the request once more this week to which they’re but to reply.