South Rand Hospital staff celebrate absence of foreign patients after Operation Dudula

In a development following Operation Dudula’s efforts to remove unregistered foreign nationals from public hospitals in South Africa, staff members at South Rand Hospital noted relief at the decrease in foreign national patients, saying the facility can only handle a limited number of patients to ensure proper care.

Since the operation began, many hospitals in the country have seen a significant change, as hospital staff claimed that a large proportion of people using public healthcare were foreign nationals.

The South African health budget stands at R298b, with the claim that 80% of this budget was used for foreigners.
With the removal of foreigners from public healthcare under Operation Dudula, this money is expected to be saved and redirected to other healthcare needs.

Although the situation is controversial, the relief the nurses and doctors felt as a result of the large number of people demanding access to healthcare that the hospital is not equipped to handle was emphasised.

South Rand Hospital spokesperson, Phafudi Molapo, said: “It is not that the staff are glad to avoid helping people; it is the opposite. The staff feel they can now provide care for patients at the correct level of care. The number of daily walk-ins and patients being admitted was astronomical for a facility of this size.”