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Residents of Stillwater have no access to healthcare services

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The Human Rights Commission in the Northern Cape has urged the Northern Cape Health Department to ensure that residents of Stillwater have access to primary healthcare services. This follows complaints by residents that they have no healthcare facilities as the mobile clinic in the area stands vacant.

Recently, nursing staff deployed by the department to work in the mobile clinic left, citing a lack of water, electricity and the long distance they have to travel to the area.

Despite assurances by the Northern Cape Health Department, the community mobile clinic in the area of Stillwater remains idle. 31-year-old Cecelia Coetzee, the mother of a new-born baby says while she was pregnant, she had to walk some 10 kilometres from her home to receive medical treatment at the clinic.

“I had to walk to the clinic because I didn’t have money for transport. No one wanted to assist,” says Coetzee.

62-year-old Sina Mabote says the lack of a clinic in the area has affected patients with chronic illnesses.

“We need a clinic because I have chronic illness like diabetes and hypertension. Sometimes we don’t have money for transport and we have to borrow money to go another clinic outside our area,” says Mabote

Residents say at times they cannot access their nearest clinic when the river is flooded.

“When the river is flooding, we cannot go to the clinic. We are constantly defaulting on taking medication due to these challenges. The ambulances personnel fail to respond on time when called,” a resident says.

The Human Rights Commission says the rights of Stillwater residents are being violated.

“Everybody in South Africa has the right to access health care services,” says Anthony Wyngaard, Acting Manager: Human Rights Commission in Northern Cape.

The provincial Department of Health says it is engaging with the Dikgatlong Local Municipality to resolve the lack of water and electricity at the mobile clinic. It says the municipality still needs to redirect water pipes to supply the clinic with water.

Meanwhile, the Department insists that it is working on a plan to install a generator and a water storage tank to temporarily manage the situation.

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