The province is bleeding and the KZN health department’s ability to deliver crucial health services remains strained.

“We are seeing things that we never thought we could ever see in our lifetime. The situation has been particularly bad for us in the health sector, where we simply cannot afford any disruption to our normal order of life, as we deal with matters of life and death every single second and minute of the day. The blockading of provincial and local routes has had a severe chain reaction, with potentially dire consequences for our fellow compatriots,” said a concerned KZN Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane.

She explained that the unrest has had a direct bearing on the prospects of recovery for those who are sick or injured and for those who need to go into life-saving medical procedures. Many healthcare staff members have been confronted by an untenable situation whereby they have been unable to come to work or go home (for those on night shift), due to the blockading of access routes.

“This has resulted in only skeletal staff being able to work at our health facilities. Many of those on night shift have had to find a way to sleep at our facilities and continue working when their shift starts. At the same time, our healthcare facilities have been receiving an increased number of trauma patients. These are people with stabbings, gunshot wounds, burns, and those run over by motor vehicles, to mention but a few. We have been unable to refer patients from clinics, community health centres, and district hospitals to the next level of care due to the civil unrest, which has resulted in some people losing their lives because we could not transfer them.

“The situation has also meant that our surgeons and other medical specialists have, in some instances, not been able to come to work and perform certain delicate medical procedures. As the Department of Health, we have suffered delays with the collection of mortal remains, as Forensic Pathology Services battle to reach scenes where people have passed away due to unnatural causes. They have also not been able to collect bodies from clinics that do not have mortuaries, due to the fact that they are unable to move around.”

The department also reported a number of disturbing incidents, whereby staff have been threatened, attacked and robbed, with healthcare facilities being vandalised. “The majority of clinics that are run by eThekwini Municipality have had to be closed due to the unrest.”

Food supplies to the various hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities remain adequate for the next few days, although this remains an area of concern, with the possibility of shortages as time goes by. “We do, however, have a contingency plan. We cannot elaborate on this, due to security reasons; suffice to say that we will do everything possible to ensure that our patients have enough food.

“We have not suffered any pharmaceutical supply shortages at this stage, and we are monitoring the situation in that regard very closely. We are acutely aware of how vital these supplies are to our patients, who must not, under any circumstances, default on their medication. It is on that basis that we are calling on our communities to be vigilant assist that the supply of medication is not blocked.”

Simelane also urged the public to beware of the threat of Covid-19 which has not bated despite the chaos. She confirmed the vaccination programme has continued in those areas that were not affected by the riots. As part of the department’s contingency plan, members are monitoring developments and assessing the situation several times a day, in order to ensure continuity. This includes working closely with a number of key structures and entities, such as the SAPS (ProvJOINT), SA Military Health Service, Road Traffic Inspectorate and South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

“The people who have caused all this destruction have names and faces. They live somewhere and are known to somebody. Those who are stopping our healthcare workers from doing their jobs are placing the lives of their own relatives in jeopardy.

“There are scores of people in our hospitals who are fighting for their lives, who need to be attended to by our doctors and nurses as a matter of urgency. Some are in critical condition, in ICU, while others are in labour and need to go into theatre. We really cannot afford a situation where lives are lost just because our healthcare workers cannot get to work. We are therefore pleading with our communities to protect our facilities, to protect our healthcare workers so that no-one interferes with them while they’re doing their jobs,” said Simelane.