The Gauteng Department of Health has warned of service delivery interruptions across the West Rand District following a National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) strike.

A statement from the Gauteng Department of Health said that in some areas where the strike is taking place ambulances are unable to attend to emergencies because they cannot enter or leave facilities due to entrances being blocked by strikers. This directly affects their response times.

“The department apologises for the inconvenience the situation is causing to patients including to family members who might be trying to reach them. We advise the public to use alternative facilities near them which are not affected.”

They added that despite the situation those in health facilities are still receiving care with limited staff.

In the West Rand, these affected facilities include Leratong Regional Hospital and Carletonville District Hospital.

There have been reports of damage to property including a car that was set alight at one of the hospitals in the West Rand. Further action will be taken against those responsible for damaging property or endangering the lives of health workers and patients.”

Kagiso Police spokesperson Captain Solomon Sibiya added health employees started striking at about 07:00 on Monday morning, March 6 in front of Leratong Hospital. They protested at the entrance to the hospital and also blocked Adcock Street, which is a main road.

“About 500 employees took part and Public Order Policing Service dispersed the crowd using tear gas after their leader [Gauteng regional secretary] failed to convince the workers to cooperate by opening the main entrance and the road.”