The Free State Department of Health says reports and pictures showing patients lying on the floor and benches at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein are not a true reflection of the situation.
Some media reports that show patients lying on the floor emerged at the weekend.
Department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi says the problem is created by patients who avoid using clinics, even for minor ailments, at the weekend.
Mvambi says the department is putting systems in place to make sure that the Polly Clinic operates 24 hours.
Mvambi says the increased number of patients at the hospital at this time is a result of people who are suffering from respiratory illnesses in the winter.
“When it comes to the cases at Pelonomi Casualty, yes, it is indeed true that there’s congestion there at times. Because cases that are not emergencies that are supposed to be treated at the clinic level end up going there to seek help. They go to seek help, and emergencies come they then we pay attention to those emergencies because that is what the unit is all about,” says Mvambi.
