Tonga Hospital aims to rid itself of moniker

Tonga Hospital’s CEO, Victor Gwebu, says it has improved so many things since its open day last year, of which cleanliness is one.

Gwebu made this statement to the stakeholders and community members at the open day on Thursday, October 17. He said his staff members are working around the clock to change the perception locals have about the hospital. He further emphasised people should no longer refer to it as emuva kwakho (translation: ‘just after you’ve left’). The hospital was apparently dubbed this after some locals said when you leave a loved one here, you immediately receive a call afterwards that they have passed away.

“Open days such as these are very useful to us, because we get to know how the community perceives us. We listen and note everything, because we want to give better service to the communities around us. One of the things mentioned last year is the state of cleanliness of the hospital. I can safely say this is the one area we have improved the most with the help of everyone involved. We will continue to take note of all concerns raised here and do better,” said Gwebu.

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He also urged the community members to be more understanding and patient towards the work done by the hospital personnel. “It’s not easy to be patient when you are in pain. We understand that very well. But the degrees of pain are usually not the same. In the case of emergencies, you will find doctors notice one case is more of an emergency than another one, and they will obviously give all their attention to the more serious one, in many cases with the aim of saving a life. It is in such instances that we get to be labelled as a hospital that is slow to respond to emergencies. We plead with the community to be more patient and understanding. We no longer want to be called emuva kwakho,” he added.

Some of the community members lamented about the recent loss of files, the inability to get employment at the hospital and the limited hours of the hospital’s pharmacy.

The director of hospital services for the Ehlanzeni District, Pharais Mogane, said they have noted the concerns and will work together with the hospital to correct them.

“I encourage the local youth to make use of the database system, because that is where we get our service providers. They should also broaden their scope to be able to stand out, lest we find ourselves with over 10 local companies that only do catering.

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“We have noted several times the issue of the pharmacy’s operating hours. The people are forced to return to the hospital in the morning for medication, because in some instances, the accidents happen at night when the pharmacy is closed. We will follow it up with the relevant departments within the hospital to see if there are any chances of having the pharmacy work 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Mogane.

The event was also supported by the Department of Home Affairs, Sassa and local traditional councils.