Troubles at Carletonville Hospital
Several issues at our only government hospital this week.
Although not directly affecting the medical service to patients, two issues created problems at Carletonville Hospital this week.
Last week, previous security company employees of the hospital picketed in front of the facility.
“Some of us have worked here for over ten years. When the new security company took over on April 1, they said we could not work for them,” said a disgruntled former staff member. The picketers say they did not understand, as some had worked for the company before them.
“They retained us because they said we know the place and the work. We even continued to work successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic. The people the new company employed come from Tembisa, Soweto, and even KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo,” the picketers complain.
They also allege that the local people the new company has employed had to pay bribes of R1,500 to secure their jobs.
Meanwhile, Carletonville Hospital is the only one in Gauteng with landlines that are out of order. Health facilities across the province had struggled without them since the end of February because of a dispute between the Gauteng Department of Health and Telkom.
By Friday, the landlines at all the other facilities were working. The department says 11 facilities had still been down before then.
Currently only Carletonville Hospital is still down because of copper cable theft.
“Telkom will install wireless lines next week,” promised the communications head, Motalatale Modiba.
Meanwhile, patients and those wanting to contact the hospital must use alternative cell phone numbers.
Although the Herald asked the department for an update on the completion date and how it planned to resolve the security employees’ issue, we received no response by printing time.
