Gauteng health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa has called on members of the public to respect healthcare workers following a number of abuse cases reported by employees at the province's health facilities.

In one of the incidents, which was caught on camera, a nurse was verbally assaulted by an angry community member.

In the video, the man can be seen aggressively tapping the nurse on her shoulder whilst he continues a verbal assault that lasts for over a minute and a half.

The unknown man shouts: “The clinic belongs to the community, not you. Don't send us from pillar to post over a small thing ... over something that you know you should be helping us with.”

He demands that the nurse help him instead of turning him back for what he terms a minor mistake. He continues with the insults, calling the nurse words that are not printable in this publication whilst threatening her.

In the video, the man is seen saying: “I'm not afraid of standing in front of the court with you because of the s**t you are doing. Your f****n s***t!”

Other incidents of abuse were also reported in the province. In one case, police had to be called in when a government hospital security guard was stabbed by escorts of a patient at Leratong Hospital in Mogale City on the West Rand. The incident, which happened on Sunday, took place after a man had been taken to the hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.

The Gauteng department of health said the man had been shot during an ATM bombing incident. According to the department, people who had escorted the patient to the hospital had attempted to forcefully enter the casualty ward; an altercation ensued when the security guard refused to let them in.  “An altercation ensued with the security officer of a private security company stationed at the hospital, wherein the escorts stabbed the security officer. Police were subsequently called to the hospital and a case of assault has been opened,” read the statement.

The department said another case had been reported where paramedics were threatened by escorts of a patient who was declared dead on arrival at a health facility. The escorts accused the paramedics belonging to the provincial emergency medical department of negligence.

“While we understand that emotions sometimes do rise in the course of interactions between hospital staff and the public, we urge members of the public to treat hospital staff with respect and courtesy as the officials try to do their best under very trying conditions,” said  Ramokgopa.

Last month, three doctors were shot and injured during a robbery at the Letaba Hospital in Tzaneen, Limpopo. The doctors were shot while in their state-sponsored residences. After the shooting, both health minister Aaron Motsoaledi and police minister Bheki Cele visited the hospital.

“We view the attack on our medical professionals as a declaration of war on the state and the citizens of the republic. We cannot treat this serious violation of the law as just another act of criminality,” Motsoaledi said in a statement at the time.​