“A bath is used to store water in one hospital in the Port Elizabeth area. A bath is filled up whenever there is supply and then staff members use a small bucket to scoop some out to flush toilets and wash their hands,” the public protector’s report reads.
Emergency services staff members did not even have enough water to shower when they returned from picking up and dropping off patients at hospitals as required under Covid-19 protocols.
“Patients have to walk down the passage to wash their hands, even in their weak state of health. There are no bathrooms or showers for the nurses working at some facilities. Staff members alleged that even making a cup of tea is a mission,” said the report.
The shortage of ambulances and staff is a major problem at Eastern Cape hospitals.
As a result of staff shortages, one nurse ends up attending to up to 50 patients.
The public protector also discovered a prevalence of unhygienic conditions. “Newborn babies have died in overcrowded and understaffed wards.”
TimesLIVE
Rat-infested, overburdened hospitals in Eastern Cape raise red flag — public protector
Image: Fredlin Adriaan
Rat infestation, a malfunctioning kitchen, rising Covid-19 cases among staff and a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) are some of the discoveries the public protector’s office made during an investigation into worsening conditions at Livingstone and other Eastern Cape hospitals.
These discoveries were made in August 2020, when deputy public protector Kholeka Gcaleka and her team visited Uitenhage, Livingstone, Mthatha and Sulenkama hospitals.
The report was released on Wednesday, detailing the investigations carried out by their office last year. One of the investigations was into the worsening conditions of Eastern Cape health facilities.
The investigation, the public protector’s office said, revealed that the administration of health at all the above hospitals did not accord with the obligations imposed by the constitution.
In Livingstone Hospital, the public protector found:
The public protector also discovered that there was a shortage of water supply at some of the hospitals.
“A bath is used to store water in one hospital in the Port Elizabeth area. A bath is filled up whenever there is supply and then staff members use a small bucket to scoop some out to flush toilets and wash their hands,” the public protector’s report reads.
Emergency services staff members did not even have enough water to shower when they returned from picking up and dropping off patients at hospitals as required under Covid-19 protocols.
“Patients have to walk down the passage to wash their hands, even in their weak state of health. There are no bathrooms or showers for the nurses working at some facilities. Staff members alleged that even making a cup of tea is a mission,” said the report.
The shortage of ambulances and staff is a major problem at Eastern Cape hospitals.
As a result of staff shortages, one nurse ends up attending to up to 50 patients.
The public protector also discovered a prevalence of unhygienic conditions. “Newborn babies have died in overcrowded and understaffed wards.”
TimesLIVE
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