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Daily Maverick
02-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Karoo residents up in arms over plan to move and integrate emergency ambulance call centre
A plan to move the ambulance call centre for several Karoo towns, currently based in Murray Street, Graaff-Reinet, to the call centre at Dora Nginza Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay has residents up in arms. They say the Eastern Cape Department of Health is putting lives at risk. These towns are the first of a planned call centre move that includes Makhanda and Humansdorp. Communities in the Karoo are up in arms over the planned closure of the Graaff-Reinet Emergency Medical Services call centre. They say merging the facility with the one in Nelson Mandela Bay, 250km away, will put their lives at risk. A document explaining the reason for the move states: 'The Department of Health has embarked on the implementation of an Electronic Call Taking and Dispatch System to enhance operational efficiency and service delivery in Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This technology-driven initiative represents a significant step forward in modernising our emergency response infrastructure.' According to a schedule provided in a signed letter by the department, the ambulance call centre in Graaff-Reinet was scheduled for closure on 1 July 2025, but residents confirmed that it was still open. A message sent to control room staff said the exact date of closure was still to be confirmed. The announcement of the closure was made just over a month ago. 'The Electronic Call Taking Centre based at Dora Nginza Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay has been fully established and is now operational. In order to optimise the benefits of this system, the Department will be expanding its reach to additional districts,' the document continued. '[The] Sarah Baartman District, due to its proximity and current reliance on outdated, paper-based call-taking methods – which have proven unreliable, particularly due to issues such as cable theft – has been identified as the next priority area for integration. 'The Department will begin by phasing in the control rooms located in Humansdorp, Makhanda (Grahamstown) and Graaff-Reinet. Once integrated, emergency calls originating from these areas will be routed to the centralised Call Taking Centre at Dora Nginza Hospital. Ambulance dispatch will continue to occur from existing EMS stations within the Sarah Baartman District, coordinated via the Push-to-Talk radio system to ensure seamless communication and rapid response times. 'This initiative is part of the Department's broader commitment to leveraging technology to strengthen emergency medical response capabilities across the province.' A letter sent to staff members signed by the head of Emergency Medical Services, AK Munilall, said the development was initiated as part of the 'Presidential drive on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). 'This forms part of a broader objective to leverage technology for improved service delivery, operational efficiency and patient response times. 'The system has been fully implemented at the Gqeberha EMS Station and has shown promising outcomes in terms of efficiency, real-time data utilisation, and call handling capacity.' According to the plan sent to EMS personnel, the closure and integration of call centres will happen as follows: Graaff-Reinet, from July 2025; Makhanda, from mid-July and Humansdorp, from the end of July. Twenty call centre communications staff will be transferred to Nelson Mandela Bay. In their motivation presented to staff members, the department said the benefits of the system were that centralised coordination allowed for uniform, real-time tracking and resource allocation across districts; improved call efficiency and data capture reduced delays in emergency responses; automated logging and analytics enabled better oversight and strategic planning. Formal consultation sessions with unions began on 29 May, and it was envisaged that staff would be transferred from Tuesday, 1 July. Outrage and fear Residents in several Karoo towns, however, are outraged at this development and have complained that no one was consulted. They are worried that the call centre will not have enough Afrikaans-speaking staff to help them. A community leader from Aberdeen, who asked not to be named, said that the current personnel had a good knowledge of the area and where, for instance, there were farms with the same name in the same district. 'Or even here by us there are two streets with the same name, but they are not the same street. Now I can just phone 112 and the person answering the phone speaks to me in Afrikaans, and they also know the story with these two streets,' he said. He said the 10777 number did not work. 'We have two direct numbers here for the people at the Graaff-Reinet call centre, and these numbers always work, otherwise we will phone the hospital and the nurses will find out for us. We also have all the drivers' numbers ourselves. We don't want this new system.' 'Even our family in Uitenhage [Kariega] complains that if you want to talk to that call centre in Nelson Mandela Bay, you must be English or Xhosa,' one resident said. 'Those who struggle with English also struggle with getting an ambulance. They don't speak Afrikaans over there. 'And here we know the ambulances well, so if we can't find someone … we phone … the hospital and they can help us or they can tell us where the ambulance is,' he said. Community leader Ricardo Smith from Nieu-Bethesda said they already waited for an ambulance for up to two hours 'if one is available' and they were afraid that the new plan would cause further significant delays. 'We are afraid that people will die with this new system if it delays the ambulances,' he said. He said there had been no consultation with the community. 'When you talk about this to people, they are so angry that they use swear words,' he said. Petition He said they had drawn up a petition to show their disagreement with the new plan and had been gathering signatures. Mandy Deysel from Jansenville agreed. 'It doesn't matter which political party people belong to, everyone is signing the petition because they are very unhappy about this new development,' she said. She said ambulances in Jansenville were already dispatched through the Graaff-Reinet call centre and could take a long time to respond, so they feared that if instructions had to come from Nelson Mandela Bay, it would take much longer. Dr Eileen Carter from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said the commission was bringing an interdict application against the Eastern Cape Department of Health based on its failure to comply with an investigative report by the SAHRC, published in 2015. The papers in this lawsuit were filed on 16 April 2025. The SAHRC instituted civil proceedings against the department concerning the lack of emergency medical services in the Xhorha Mouth area as well as the department's failure to comply with the SAHRC's 2015 EMS Report. Extensive recommendations were made at the time to ensure the improvement of the service. According to the Notice of Motion, the matter was scheduled to be heard on 20 May 2025 in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Bhisho. MEC for Health Ntandokazi Capa indicated that she would oppose the SAHRC's case. The case was, however, removed from the roll as the MEC had not yet filed her opposing papers, despite being given 15 days to file them. Carter said the SAHRC was drafting further submissions to the court. According to this answer by Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi, in May, 25% of ambulances in the Eastern Cape are non-operational. But even counting the full fleet of vehicles, there are 0.5 ambulances available for every 10,000 residents. The national standard is 1:10,000.
Daily Maverick
12-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Too little, too late – lifesaving chemotherapy drugs for kids finally arrive at Eastern Cape hospitals
A month after the Eastern Cape Department of Health promised that they had paid the overdue bills that delayed the delivery of chemotherapy drugs to Nelson Mandela Bay hospitals and that the issue would be solved, crucial chemotherapy drugs finally started arriving at Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital. But it was too late for some children, who have missed a cycle of treatment, leaving them at high risk. A month ago, the Eastern Cape Department of Health assured the public that it had paid the overdue bills for pediatric chemotherapy drugs and that the problem was solved. Only it wasn't. And medical teams were thrown into a race against time to prevent their little patients from defaulting on their treatment. Crucial chemotherapy drugs needed to treat five children, who have already missed a full cycle of treatment, only arrived at Port Elizabeth's Provincial Hospital on Thursday, 12 June. The five children were just the most serious of cases – many others also missed a day or two of treatment and newly diagnosed patients could not receive their initial treatment. The additional month's waiting could have devastating consequences for the patients. One pediatric oncologist, who works in another province, said they have seen cancer returning if a child misses a cycle of chemotherapy, and sometimes the returned disease will be resistant to first-line drugs. On 19 May, the department indicated that overdue bills, which were the reason for the outage, were paid and that drugs will be delivered. Documents from senior officials in the department that have been confirmed with three sources as authentic, however, show that on 21 May, doctors were warned that 11 types of chemotherapy were not available, and in four of these cases it was due to 'closed accounts'. It is understood that companies wanted a bigger part of their overdue bills paid after an initial payment was made. Carboplatin, one of the crucial chemotherapy drugs, was, however, reported to be out of stock with a contracted supplier and needed to be sourced from another supplier. On 2 June, outages were still not addressed and the hospital had no Betamethasone, no Carboplatin, no Dacarbazine, no Methotrexate, no Leucovorin, no Polygam – either 6 grams or 12 grams – no Melphalan and no Spironolactone. Pharmacies had received Vinblastine (two months of stock) and Vincristine (commonly given as an IV injection – six months of stock). For the next 10 days, patients needing chemotherapy drugs that were out of stock were sent away. Yesterday, on 11 June, an entire contingent of patients were again sent away – five of them have by now missed an entire cycle of chemotherapy or three weeks of treatment. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has launched an investigation into the repeated interruptions of cancer treatment for public healthcare patients in the Eastern Cape. Dr Eileen Carter from the SAHRC said the Democratic Alliance (DA) had laid a complaint with them about the matter. The oncology units in Gqeberha previously ran out of chemotherapy medication in January after the Eastern Cape Department of Health's account with a supplier was suspended due to a delayed payment. At the time, the medicines that were in short supply were Docetaxel injection vials and Anastrozole tablets. On Sunday, Sizwe Kupelo, the spokesperson for the Eastern Cape MEC for Health Ntandokazi Capa, said the department 'wishes to reassure members of the public that drug availability in our facilities is one of the top priorities'. 'An amount of R284-million has been made available to pay pharmaceutical companies and order medicines. As of the past two weeks, R60-million was disbursed and various suppliers have already started deliveries. This week, orders and payments will continue to be made. To monitor progress, the head of the department, Dr Rolene Wagner, has established a task team led by a chief director to coordinate the whole ordering and delivery of medicines, with oncology being a priority. 'Pharmacists from all oncology departments in all three of our major hospitals also had a meeting with the HOD and pharmaceutical services in Bhisho to discuss their stock levels. We wish to re-emphasise that payment of service providers is no longer an issue at this stage and medicines are being delivered. 'However, we have been made aware that some companies that are on the national contracts do not have certain products available, due to global supply chain issues. 'To address this, the task team and relevant managers are liaising with the national department to seek permission to procure outside the contracted companies,' he said. This process appears to only have been started two weeks after the out-of-stock chemotherapy drugs crisis was confirmed. 'Once again, this is a priority to both the MEC and the HOD, and both offices will continue to monitor and provide support to colleagues on the ground,' Kupelo said. DM
Daily Maverick
01-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Eastern Cape health department is breaking the law in the way it runs Dora Nginza Hospital
In a damning and scathing report the Public Protector has found that the Eastern Cape Department of Health is breaking a handful of laws and regulations in its management of the Dora Nginza Hospital. The Eastern Cape Department of Health has been called out for breaking several of the country's health laws and regulations and violating the Constitution in the way it runs Dora Nginza Hospital in Zwide, Gqeberha. This follows an earlier, unannounced visit to the hospital by the Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka. While the right of access to health is enshrined in the Constitution, government departments are allowed to claim they do not have the budget to implement all measures immediately. However, the Public Protector found that the department failed to use funds allocated for essential equipment. It is well-known to hospital staff that prior to an inspection, an 'advance team' is usually sent to state hospitals in the province to make sure they are clean, equipment is working and overcrowding is under control, but this time Gcaleka did not inform the department's head office in Bhisho of her visit. During the visit in 2024, the Public Protector identified numerous operational shortcomings. These included an insufficient number of security personnel on site and a defective closed-circuit television system. In addition, security protocols for maternity wards – including ID verification and visitor passes – were not properly implemented. Damning report Although the Public Protector visited the hospital in 2024, her report was released just days after two newborns were stolen from Dora Nginza Hospital's maternity ward in May. A 26-year-old woman, Sinovuyo Rabula, appeared in court on Friday, 30 May. Her bail application was postponed to 6 June. Key findings from the Public Protector's investigation include: A critical shortage of staff is negatively affecting healthcare delivery. The hospital is still operating on a 2016 organogram, which has become obsolete, especially considering the additional tertiary services it now provides. The centralised recruitment process at the provincial Department of Health office significantly delays the hiring of both clinical and non-clinical staff. The maternity ward is overcrowded, with some women who have given birth forced to wait on chairs for available beds – a situation that increases their risk of infection and other complications; and There is no privacy during patient consultations. Daily Maverick has been highlighting the crisis in state hospitals in Nelson Mandela Bay for years, including warnings about the unprecedented scale of resignations of doctors from these facilities. The Public Protector echoed what health leaders and civil society groups have been saying for the past 15 years: the absence of a district hospital in the Nelson Mandela Bay District has placed immense strain on Dora Nginza Hospital. The facility is forced to serve simultaneously as a clinic, district hospital, regional hospital and tertiary centre – particularly for obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics. The neglect of this key hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay — which provides specialist services to the entire western region of the province — was further underscored in the latest health statistics published in the District Health Barometer in April. Nelson Mandela Bay was identified as one of the worst-performing districts in the country, recording the second-highest number of maternal deaths (35) in the province – an increase of seven from the previous year. The statistics also show that both neonatal and early neonatal death rates at health facilities in the metro have risen year on year, placing the district among the country's poorest performers in this category as well. The report further highlighted the shortage of medical equipment such as blood pressure machines, haemoglobin machines, cardiotocography machines, Dinamaps (patient monitors) in the postnatal ward and infant warmers. Investigators found that the department failed to spend the allocated budget for equipment. 'The low level of spending while there is a shortage of critical medical equipment suggests that there is a serious structural problem in the Eastern Cape Department of Health, which renders the provision of basic healthcare services less reliable or not delivered in a progressive and effective manner as contemplated in the Constitution and the law,' Gcaleka said. She ordered national Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, to 'take cognisance of the report and ensure that the remedial action is implemented'. Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane was also instructed to 'ensure executive oversight so that the remedial action by the Public Protector is implemented', The head of the Eastern Cape Department of Health, Dr Rolene Wagner, was ordered to submit a detailed plan – with timelines – to address critical issues. These include: Improving hospital security; Implementing a plan within four months to convert Empilweni TB Hospital into a district hospital; Addressing severe staff shortages (medical and non-clinical); Relocating Dora Nginza's kitchen and laundry; Finalising recruitment for non-clinical vacancies; Procuring new trolleys and specialised cooking equipment and disposing of the defective ones; and Completing and submitting a finalised organogram At the time of the Public Protector's visit in 2024, Wagner was not in control of the department as she had been moved to the Office of the Premier in October 2023 to form part of his 'crack' team to solve the pressing problems in the province. She only returned to her job in August 2024. Other findings included that the province's health department was not delivering healthcare services in a 'progressive and effective manner' as contemplated by the Constitution; that treatment of patients, especially of pregnant women, at the hospital 'may be a violation of the national health regulations, which places an obligation on the functionaries of the hospital to maintain an environment which minimises the risk of disease outbreaks, the transmission of infection to other users, healthcare personnel and visitors.' The ongoing shortage of midwives and delays in filling vacant posts since 2017 – along with a lack of nurses in the postnatal ward to manage patient overflow during peak periods – continues to place a heavy burden on the hospital's limited staff and their mental wellbeing, the report noted. 'The delay in implementing intervention measures such as the establishment of a level 1 maternity service at [the] Port Elizabeth provincial hospital, which should have been done in March 2023, and the conversion of Empilweni Tuberculosis Hospital to a district hospital which would also offer level 1 maternity services has negatively impacted the delivery of antenatal and postnatal services at the hospital,' it said. Investigators also found that the outdated 2016 organogram had led to severe staff shortages in key departments, including the kitchen, laundry, theatres, maintenance, surgical units and casualty wards. Other findings include that 30 cardiotocography machines that were ordered in January 2023 had not been delivered. Only one infant warmer was working during the inspection. 'Despite regulation 13(1) of the National Health Act (NHA), placing an obligation on the hospital to ensure that the medical equipment is available and functional in compliance with the law, the functionaries of the facility and the head of Department for Health in the Eastern Cape have failed to ensure that the hospital has essential equipment in all clinical service areas,' Gcaleka said in her report. 'The undue delay in the procurement of medical equipment has [the] potential of endangering and compromising the lives of people who depend on the hospital for healthcare. The responsibility of ensuring that timeous procurement of adequate medical equipment is delivered to the hospital is the responsibility of the department to safeguard the health and safety of all workers and patients,' the report said. The hospital reportedly has only two washing machines, one of which was broken — meaning that its laundry had to be done at Livingstone Hospital. 'This is not sustainable,' the report said, adding that the issue should be speedily resolved to 'mitigate the risk of patients contracting infections and address the serious impact on the operations of the hospital. This negatively affected the availability of linen for the wards, to the extent that the linen provided to the patients was not properly cleaned.' Investigators also flagged long-standing issues with the kitchen at the hospital. These were highlighted two years ago by civil society groups in Nelson Mandela Bay. 'The equipment in the kitchen is dilapidated and very old, has surpassed its life expectancy; [it] constantly breaks down and should be replaced. The breakdown of pots is also caused by the lack of trained staff to operate the pots and over utilisation of the pots which have reached their life span.' The pots, which cost R500,000 each, should have been replaced but Gcaleka said the budget was not used. She added that new pots 'could have been procured to replace the old pots that have reached their life span'. 'The Government Immovable Assets Management Act (GIAMA) provides for the management of an immovable asset that is held or used by a national or provincial department and to ensure the coordination of the use of an immovable asset with the service delivery objectives of a national or provincial department. 'The progressive realisation contemplated by the constitution can only be understood to mean that, no matter what level of resources the department might have at its disposal, it must take immediate steps within its means towards the fulfilment of the right of access to health services, by availing resources to address the challenges relating to the shortages of medical equipment, clinical and non-clinical staff which impacts negatively on the delivery of health care services in a progressive and effective manner. The conduct of the department in not addressing these challenges is inconsistent with the Constitution,' the report added. While the Eastern Cape Department of Health has not yet commented on the Public Protector's report, provincial health minister Ntandokazi Capa's spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, said earlier in May that R143-million had been earmarked to improve services at Nelson Mandela Bay's two largest hospitals, Livingstone and Dora Nginza. He confirmed last week that 10 new doctors and a number of nurses had been appointed at Dora Nginza Hospital. DM
Daily Maverick
27-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Senior manager claims she was removed after blowing whistle on scam at Uitenhage hospital
The acting district manager for Nelson Mandela Bay's clinics and the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital claims she was removed from her position because she exposed a scam at the Uitenhage hospital. The acting district manager for Nelson Mandela Bay's clinics and Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, Sonia Lupondwana, has been removed from her position. Lupondwana claimed on Tuesday that she was being 'silenced' because she blew the whistle on a scam at Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, inside which she claimed state officials were running a private hospital for payment using resources from the Eastern Cape Department of Health. The department's spokesperson, Siyanda Manana, said Lupondwana's claims were false. He confirmed that a rogue private hospital was being run from inside the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital, but said that staff members, not Lupondwana, had informed the department of this. 'We are investigating. Surely we won't silence a person who means good. If we did, it means we are part of the corruption,' he said. The head of the department, Dr Rolene Wagner, wrote to Lupondwana that she had instituted an investigation into the issues raised by her. Wagner added that Lupondwana would be reassigned as the director of primary healthcare — a position that reports to the district manager. Before this, staff at the district health office lodged a litany of complaints against Lupondwana at the provincial legislature in an unsuccessful attempt to have her removed. The allegations included that Lupondwana failed to act during a life-threatening strike at the Uitenhage Provincial Hospital this month. Community cries for help in that instance led to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Health getting involved in an attempt to restore services at the hospital. Lupondwana said she failed to intervene because she had been suffering from raised blood pressure and could not deal with an emotionally charged issue like the strike. In a letter to Wagner, Lupondwana alleged that road accident files at the hospital were sold for R600 each, that car tyres were bought for private individuals using the hospital's budget and that parts of the hospital were run as a private hospital using state resources. She said she had to handle the strike without assistance. Manana said Lupondwana had been appointed to her position pending a review of the department's organisational structure. 'Her moving to her substantive post as director for primary healthcare is standard administrative practice and does not amount to a suspension or punitive action,' he said. 'Our primary objective is to improve service delivery to the people of Nelson Mandela Bay. This requires teamwork, collaboration and focus. 'The department is unable to comment in detail on the ongoing internal processes, but we wish to state that no disciplinary action has been instituted against Lupondwana at this time. Any internal preliminary assessments or investigations do not equate to formal disciplinary action. 'Should formal processes be initiated, due process will be followed and the employee concerned will be informed accordingly.' Lupondwana said she had obtained a court order for her to be appointed as the district health manager, and that only the MEC, Ntandokazi Capa, could remove her.
The South African
22-05-2025
- Health
- The South African
Eastern Cape healthcare couple gunned down in their home
Eastern Cape police have launched a manhunt for suspects who shot and killed a healthcare couple at their home in the Dick Locality, Lusikisiki, on Wednesday night, 21 May 2025. According to SAPS, the victims, a 39-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man, were ambushed in a brutal attack at around 19:50. The man had just arrived home and was still in his vehicle when two armed men in balaclavas held him at gunpoint. The suspects allegedly demanded to see his wife and forced him into the house. Once inside, the gunmen called out for the woman. When she came out of the bedroom, they opened fire, killing her on the spot. They then shot and killed her husband. The gunmen spared the domestic worker inside the house. Police have opened a double murder case and are appealing to the public for information. The victims were employees at St Elizabeth Hospital, the woman a professional nurse, and the man a deputy director in the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Health MEC Ntandokazi Capa expressed deep shock and sadness at the killings. 'Losing a life is one too many. It is even more difficult when a health professional is involved. They play a crucial role in serving our communities,' Capa said. 'These colleagues have departed at a time when the country relied heavily on their expertise as professionals who were serving their citizens with commitment and integrity,' she said. What steps must authorities take to protect frontline healthcare workers, especially in communities plagued by violent crime with no clear motive? Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
