Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
4 October 2024 | 15:30 CAT
2 min read

Frustrated community members from Wentworth, Bluff, and Merebank have demanded better patient care at Wentworth Hospital following ongoing complaints about poor service and long wait times. The newly formed Wentworth Hospital Committee (WHC) led a peaceful protest and handed over a memorandum to hospital CEO Tiny Khanyile, outlining their concerns. The community is calling for immediate action to address these grievances and improve patient care.

Andre De Bruin, a community activist from Wentworth, expressed frustration over the treatment of patients at local hospitals, citing two major concerns. First, he emphasised the lack of respect shown to patients seeking medical care. Secondly, he highlighted the excessively long waiting times, pointing to instances where patients had to wait from Monday morning until Tuesday evening without being seen, even for chronic illnesses.

According to De Bruin, these issues reflect a serious disregard for the well-being of patients. Many residents have shared personal experiences of losing loved ones due to inadequate care, with some accusing the hospital of mismanaging medical records and neglecting critical patients.

He explained that the Wentworth Hospital committee was formed about three months ago to address ongoing issues at the facility. Despite sending multiple emails requesting a meeting and potential solutions to all management staff, they have not received any responses or even acknowledgements. This lack of communication ultimately led to organising a protected march to raise awareness of their concerns and demand action from hospital authorities.

Dr Imran Keeka, DA KZN health spokesperson, visited Wentworth Hospital unannounced to investigate significant issues in the outpatient department and casualty areas. He observed that patients arriving at 7 AM often waited until 4 PM, only to be told to return the next day, resulting in up to one and a half days to see a healthcare professional and receive medication. He discovered that while patients generally found the hospital staff to be satisfactory in care levels, there were complaints about rude security personnel and some healthcare staff.

“We had no option but to reach out to Dr Imraan Keeka, he did an oversight visit and was shocked by what he saw,” said De Bruin.

Angry protesters gave Wentworth Hospital 48 hours to respond to their grievances about the facility’s malfunctioning. “Should we not get what we desire from the memorandum, we are sitting with 3 groups of communities that are highly frustrated, reaching boiling point, we, as the elected committee are under immense pressure, it is unfortunate, do we have to go radical before we are heard? We have tried everything peacefully and diplomatically,” he said.

De Bruin noted that the hospital committee met to discuss their next step to go ahead with a “Plan B”; part of this plan included sending an email to the MEC, requesting an urgent meeting to address their concerns and explore solutions.

“We observed all protocols of lodging grievances, we didn’t go straight to the MEC but we have now exhausted all protocols,” he said.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Junaid Kharsany and Andre De Bruin, Wentworth community leader, here.