Mpumalanga premier condemns assault on medical staff at Themba Hospital in KaBokweni
Some doctors and nurses were allegedly assaulted during an uncontrollable protest, during which some community members raised various issues with the hospital management.
Both the Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, and the MEC for health, Sasekani Manzini, have condemned the attack on healthcare workers that allegedly took place at Themba Hospital last Thursday, April 4.
Sourced information suggested that some doctors and nurses were allegedly assaulted by community members, known only as the Local Business Forum, during a protest action on Thursday that turned sour.
According to information, the group had allegedly gone to the hospital to confront its management on a number of issues, including corruption, nepotism, the hospital board and business opportunities.
It is at this point that the alleged assaults on some healthcare workers is said to have taken place. The police had to be called in and managed to disperse the crowd.
However, the hospital was closed and only operated on skeleton staff as Nehawu and the South African Medical Association Trade Union withdrew the medical staff from the hospital in fear of their safety. The hospital has since reopened.
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Addressing the media on Monday following her visit to the hospital, Mtshweni-Tsipane said on top of the agenda was the issue of safety and security for the healthcare workers and the patients.
“Security and the safety of our workers and patients are important. We have already done the risk assessments, which point out to the areas where we need to beef up security to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in our institutions and facilities in the future,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.
“We have addressed the security issue, and now we need to interface and engage with the community who have raised concerns as well. We had interactions with the management of the hospital today; we have always been in contact with them and the labour unions. We have also seen the patients. We need to engage with the concerned community group around this area, because there is no point for us to deal with the symptoms but neglect the primary source of our trouble.”
The leaders of the concerned community members told this paper a lot of corruption is currently taking place at Themba Hospital and the Mpumalanga Nursing College. They alleged that employment and business opportunities are always afforded to people not originally from around KaBokweni and surrounds.
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The group added that they want to fight crime in the area following a spate of car hijackings.
