MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Medical staff not safe

Medical staff not safe

Dear Editor

More than 200 incidents of hospital and clinic staff were attacked or threatened by patients or assailants over the past two years. Over half of these took place in KZN.

These shocking statistics came to light following a DA parliamentary question and paint a bleak picture regarding the safety of medical staff.

Public health personnel have enough on their plates with broken and dangerous infrastructure, staff shortages, medicine stockouts, and broken equipment, to name just a few. They should not also have to deal with robberies at gunpoint, physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, death threats, or violence of any other kind. These staff provide a vital service to communities and the Minister must do more to ensure their safety while on public health facility premises.

The Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) reviews the security of health facilities as part of their ideal clinic checks. The DA will submit a follow-up PQ to the Minister to determine how many facilities passed their OHSC security reviews.

The Minister needs to prioritise the safety of clinic and hospital staff. The country is already facing a critical shortage and a steady exodus of medical professionals. Failure to improve their safety will surely exacerbate the situation.

Regards

Michele Clarke MP
DA Shadow Minister of Health

Category: Tag: ,

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Name of sexual offender?

    Dear Editor 653 Years Imprisonment for 119 Counts of Sexual Offences Against Children Why is this person being protected by anonymity? He has been convicted and sentenced, so please release his identity. Regards LA Morton In Response to/From: 653 Years Imprisonment for 119 Counts of Sexual Offences Against Children

  • Older Persons Grants Land Today — No Need to Queue at Dawn

    Dear Editor, Older Persons grants are paid today, 30 October, under SASSA’s revised November payment schedule — with disability grants on Monday 2 November, children’s grants on Tuesday 3 November, and grants under review on Thursday 5 November. Two things every beneficiary should know. First, grant money does not expire on payment day. It stays…

  • November Grants Pay Early – No Need to Queue at Dawn

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. November grants pay earlier than usual. Older Persons grants are paid on Friday 30 October, Disability grants on 2 November, and Child Support and other grants on 3 November. Grants still under review are paid on 5 November. The money…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Eish! – an exclamation [Ay-sh] or [ee-sh] A Khoi term usually expressed when someone experiences surprise or shock.