Despite recent infrastructure repairs at Rob Ferreira Hospital, patients continue to face crippling delays to receive care.

While the Department of Health confirmed that hot water systems and broken doors have been repaired, long waiting periods at file collection and the pharmacy remain a major hurdle.

File collection counters left unattended

Queues at file collection remain a frustration for patients. Patients told Lowvelder that they are required to put their files on the counter and wait to be called. Some claimed that staff do not prioritise the elderly or those who are critical.

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Others have complained that they wait for more than four hours at the pharmacy before either being called to collect their medication or told to return the following day, only to wait for another three hours before their prescriptions are filled.

Many blamed a shortage of staff, noting that at times only one person is available to serve more than 20 people at a time.

Patients report 5-hour delays

Devon Brummer (63) said he attends his monthly check-up at the hospital and finishes on time in all other departments, but faces delays at file collection and the pharmacy.

“They need to improve these departments,” he said. “People cannot wait for hours at file collection before they can see a doctor, and then another three hours to collect medication. Some of the officials eat while assisting us, while others go on lunch, leaving us stranded.”

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Nokuthula Mnisi (58) said she is forced to be at the hospital by 05:00 to ensure she gets her file, which she sometimes only receives after 10:00, before queuing for another three to four hours at the pharmacy.

“Some of the staff try to make everything go smoothly, but the waiting is too much,” she said. “The doctors inside push the line, but file collection is the challenge. At times the counters are empty, with only two or three people assisting the large number of people in the queues. That is not fair; we have people who are in pain, the elderly and children who just want to get help and go home.”

Management urged to resolve staff shortages

Other patients echoed these sentiments and called on hospital management to intervene to ensure lines at file collection and the pharmacy move faster, and to resolve the staff shortage.

The spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Department of Health, Dumisani Malamule, acknowledged the media enquiry, but had not provided a response by the time of publication.