The Standerton Advertiser recently published an article regarding important hospital staff allegedly sleeping on duty; the article included verbal responses from Standerton Hospital CEO Nhlanhla Dladla.

The Department of Health replied to our queries at 14:00 on August 15, after the article had gone to print.

Their response to the allegations—concerning hospital staff reportedly sleeping when a family arrived with an emergency at 06:00 on August 10 – is that the complaint from the family has been received and acknowledged.

According to Dumisani Malamule of the Communication Directorate of the Mpumalanga Department of Health, the complaint will be processed within the next 25 working days.

“We are currently conducting investigations on the allegations raised, and we will revert to the family,” said Malamule.

He explained that the investigation will determine whether the allegations will be treated as a complaint or as misconduct. If the outcome shows misconduct, the hospital staff allegedly sleeping will face consequences under the Department’s Disciplinary Procedure.

Regarding the delayed ambulance to Morgenzon, Malamule stated that although an ambulance was donated to the Department of Health Morgenzon Clinic, it is located in Standerton because the only EMS station serving the area is on the premises of Standerton Hospital.

“This EMS station is the only one to cater to the entire Lekwa municipality population. All calls are directed to the EMS call centre, which is centralised and dispatched from the Standerton EMS station,” explained Malamule.

He concluded by stating that, given the current available resources, it is impossible to allocate a dedicated ambulance to Morgenzon Clinic.