Johannesburg - As the country commemorates the 44th anniversary of the death of Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) founding president Robert Sobukwe next week Sunday, South Africa’s public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has discovered overcrowding of patients at the hospital named after the freedom fighter in Kimberley.
Public Protector spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said Mkhwebane paid a surprise visit to the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital and interacted with both patients and management.
“The facility attends to up to 150 patients daily. Most of them skip local clinics leading to lengthy queues in the casualty ward.
“The absence of a district facility, which ideally should attend to patients referred by the clinics, and in turn refer to Robert Sobukwe Hospital, has been identified as a factor that exacerbates the problem.”
Mkhwebane also discovered the inefficiencies of the Emergency Medical Service (EMS). The grounding of ambulances due to a lack of fuel was also identified as another issue paralysing the local public health care system.
“Contractual problems between the government and a service provider appear to be at the heart of the issue. The (public protector) will next week write to both the municipal and provincial health authorities for responses on all areas of concern. The feedback will be accompanied by plans to address the problems. The (public protector) will then monitor the implementation of the plans,” Segalwe said.
He said Mkhwebane and her deputy advocate Kholeka Gcaleka were in the Northern Cape as part of their nationwide stakeholder roadshow during which the office interacts with parties interested in the public protector’s work to fulfil the office’s constitutional mandate to investigate, report on and remedy any alleged or suspected improper conduct in all state affairs. The office also wants to be accessible to all persons and communities.
The roadshow proceeds to KwaZulu-Natal next week.
Political Bureau