Patients concerned about poor service at Praktiseer Clinic
The shortage of nurses is not the only concern at the clinic.
Some community members have raised their concerns about the shortage of nurses at Praktiseer Clinic.
According to them, this became evident when they visited the local clinic and were sent home without being attended to.
They said they were told it does not have enough nurses to assist them. A resident of Tubatse said that she visits the facility for her chronic treatment. According to her, she was recently forced to go home after having waited for an entire day at the clinic, and did so without receiving any assistance.
“Only three nurses are expected to assist hundreds of patients. Some patients arrive as early as 03:00, just to book a place in the queue, and are only assisted at 09:00,” alleged the patients. The shortage of nurses is not the only concern at the clinic.
“There is a water shortage; the toilets have been blocked for months due to lack of water. It’s a mess,” they said.
Residents said the clinic relies on water tankers for supply.
“This is unhygienic. These water tankers are not reliable as they travel long distances. These nurses are working under tough conditions.”
When this publication visited the clinic on August 22, one of the clinic staff members alleged that one nurse had collapsed the previous day.
“It was a result of burnout. Nurses are forced to assist hundreds of people daily. It’s a big task for them,” added
the source.
The paper is in possession of a video, which is circulating on social media, in which a patient complained that the
clinic closed before 14:00 on July 28. In the video a woman is heard complaining that she had an emergency and was not assisted as there were no nurses available when she arrived.
Praktiseer is one of the biggest townships in Limpopo. The area has only one clinic and is highly
populated.
This publication forwarded queries to the Limpopo health spokesperson, Neil Shikwambane. He had yet to
respond at the time of going to press
