Unions in the health sector in the Northern Cape are demanding that the provincial Health department put measures in place to secure health professional and patients.
National Health Education & Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) and Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) have voiced concern after several incidents in which intruders gained access to health facilities and assaulted nurses.
NEHAWU’s provincial chairperson Jacque Cupido and DENOSA’s provincial deputy chairperson Gilbert Sak voice their concerns.
“We will ask the department through their contract or agreement with the security companies to beef up the security to ensure patients and our staff members are safe and protected and feel safe to come and work. Ours is that the department should make a provision for more securities and our stance always is to insource those types of services,” Cupido said.
“We need to see the MEC, failure for her to meet with us on this particular matter, we’ll have no choice but to protect the interest of our members and withdraw our labour,” Sak explained.
A 28-year-old professional nurse at Harry Suite Hospital in Upington, has witnessed colleagues being assaulted at work several times.
“Early this year, we had one professional nurse that was working in casualty; she was assaulted by another colleague because of delaying helping the colleague’s wife. He came and assaulted her. She was booked off and had to be off for trauma. There was security but security couldn’t even assist her at that moment. We’re very unsafe because of the type of work we’re doing.”
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