BY LAWRENCE ARMOED
All trauma cases at the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, in Kariega, have been diverted to Laetitia Bam in KwaNobuhle after an attack on a nurse and death threats levelled against staff.
On Sunday morning, a nurse was assaulted when three men brought a man with multiple gunshot wounds to the hospital shortly after 6am.
In a statement, Eastern Cape health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth said the men had arrived in a black Ford Fiesta and demanded that the nurses on duty take the wounded man from their car for treatment.When the nurses told them there were only women on duty and asked them to help carry the wounded man into the trauma unit, the assault took place.
One of the men refused to assist and allegedly punched a nurse in the face, before kicking her.
Security guards on duty at the trauma unit called security staff at the main gate for assistance.Before speeding off, the men allegedly threatened the lives of the hospital staff should the wounded man die from his injuries.
He was, however, declared dead on arrival.
This has traumatised the staff, with the team that was meant to report for nightshift duty refusing to work, fearing their safety.
Workers were worried as there was still shooting in the community.The provincial health department arranged for armed response to be at the facility as an interim measure.
“However, the night staff are too scared to report for duty,” the department said in a statement on Sunday night.
“This has necessitated that patients, doctors as well as one of the armed guards will be diverted to Laetitia Bam to ensure service continuity.
This is in relation to new trauma cases.”
Meth said the department was shocked by the blatant attack and incidents like these could negatively affect services at public healthcare facilities.
“Communities need to treat healthcare workers with respect instead of assaulting and threatening them because this might lead to compromised service delivery as people fear for their lives.
“It cannot be that hardworking and dedicated healthcare workers continue being targeted by thugs in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“We condemn this thuggery with the contempt it deserves,” she said.
“When our staff, who continue going above and beyond the call of duty, are too traumatised to go to work, it will be communities that suffer at the end of the day.”
She said the staff on duty would receive counselling and additional staff had been called in to assist where needed.
Meth also called on the police to leave no stone unturned in their investigation of the matter, and urged the community to help them.
Daily Kasi News 