DESPITE mounting pressures and ongoing challenges at Wentworth Hospital, urgent patients are being treated by on-duty doctors rather than a dedicated priority care physician.

The hospital’s public relations officer, Thandeka Phiri, said a growing influx of patients has placed added pressure on services, resulting in some being referred to nearby local clinics to ease the strain.

Also read: Wentworth Hospital Board responds to public’s concerns

She said the management of the hospital is doing its best to address the ongoing challenges.

“Stable chronic patients are being referred to local clinics. Eligible patients are enrolled onto the pharmacy collect and go programme, where the medication is prepacked while inpatient doctors start seeing outpatient department from 08:00 until 10:00. Thereafter they start doing ward rounds. The doctors allocated to the outpatient’s department (OPD) continue attending to patients,” she said.

Although the hospital tries to mitigate the situation, residents and patients on social media complained that elderly people and those who are seriously ill are not getting an urgent medical attention.

“There is no doctor who is allocated to see priority patients only,” she said.

According to Phiri, the following categories of patients are prioritised at the facility:

• 75 years and older,
• Children, disabled and frail.

“There is normally a huge influx of patients in the morning at OPD, (inclusive of booked patients, missed appointments and referrals from clinics and private doctors) this, however, is being managed by revising the booking system,” said Phiri.

The KZN Department of Health conducted an oversight visit at the Wentworth Hospital on February 24, in an attempt to get first-hand experiences from patients.

Also read: Wentworth Hospital battles medication shortages

Challenges at the hospital such as long lines at the medical outpatient department (MOPD) and the emergency ward, frustrate patients and some have taken to social media platforms to express their anger.

KZN Health Head of Department, Penny Msimango, together with the department’s senior management, visited the hospital as part of the #Lulisandla (Lend a Hand) initiative.

According to a statement from MEC for the Department of Health, Nomagugu Simelane, the visit was prompted by numerous complaints from the public regarding long queues and service challenges.

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