The National Health Education & Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) in Limpopo says the state of health in the province is in crisis. Nehawu’s executive member picketed outside the offices of the Health Department in Polokwane.
Provincial Secretary Jacob Adams says there are issues concerning the non-payment of performance bonuses and general shortage of resources. Adams alleges that some hospitals are feeding patients expired food.
“The state of health in the province is of such a nature that it needs an urgent intervention looking at the state of affairs. And you know we have always engaged with the MEC, particularly on the shortage of staff, the shortage of linen, the shortage of equipment which are not working and in particular your laundry equipment. But apart from that, patients are eating rotten food.”
The Health Department in Limpopo denies that the public health sector in the province is facing a crisis or that patients being fed expired food at some hospitals.
Acting Head of Department Matome Mawasha has, however, admitted that the department is operating under budgetary constraints leading to several challenges.
“Generally it is not correct to say the department is collapsing in fact this department is improving in a big way you would have seen recently that we are filling vacant positions at the service delivery level we don’t get to know about food that is about to expire from the media all the facilities we visit them we are on the ground we get to know about this things and we resolve the problems I have said this a huge department there is going to be problems there is going to be challenges here and there.”
