I recently visited a government clinic in Diepkloof in Soweto and the situation was as it always has been.
I recently visited a government clinic in Diepkloof in Soweto and the situation was as it always has been.
Firstly, people have to register their names and physical addresses and then wait in a very long queue until they are referred to the doctor.
There were a few nurses and doctors, but every now and then, a nurse would come and enquire about a patient with tonsillitis. Then that patient would be treated quickly so that the queues would be shorter, but unfortunately this did not happen because more and more patients kept arriving.
After a few hours, maybe two, I was finally examined by the doctor. She scribbled my medication prescription and then referred me to the chemist.
When I arrived there, there was no staff. They were on lunch or something. So I had to wait for another 15 minutes.
This situation is normal to me. It has always been this way and that is why people from the township wake up at dawn when they have to go to the hospitals, to avoid queueing and waiting for a long time. It's a great pity that the attitudes of public servants is so sloppy. They don't even try to improve things.
We need doctors in the public sector. I hope the government will see how vital doctors are and award them respectable and well-earned salaries because we truly need them .
Bontle Maubane, Joburg
No change to the way state clinics operate
I recently visited a government clinic in Diepkloof in Soweto and the situation was as it always has been.
I recently visited a government clinic in Diepkloof in Soweto and the situation was as it always has been.
Firstly, people have to register their names and physical addresses and then wait in a very long queue until they are referred to the doctor.
There were a few nurses and doctors, but every now and then, a nurse would come and enquire about a patient with tonsillitis. Then that patient would be treated quickly so that the queues would be shorter, but unfortunately this did not happen because more and more patients kept arriving.
After a few hours, maybe two, I was finally examined by the doctor. She scribbled my medication prescription and then referred me to the chemist.
When I arrived there, there was no staff. They were on lunch or something. So I had to wait for another 15 minutes.
This situation is normal to me. It has always been this way and that is why people from the township wake up at dawn when they have to go to the hospitals, to avoid queueing and waiting for a long time. It's a great pity that the attitudes of public servants is so sloppy. They don't even try to improve things.
We need doctors in the public sector. I hope the government will see how vital doctors are and award them respectable and well-earned salaries because we truly need them .
Bontle Maubane, Joburg