Some of the patients have broken bones while others have dislocated joints.
They have either been admitted to the facility for a long time or sent home with their injuries.
The patients say they are concerned that the delays will affect their recovery.
Patient, “I came here on the 20th of March and I was turned back because there were not enough beds. I was later admitted in April and ever since then, I didn’t get any help to my broken ankle. It’s painful because we have been here for long. I left my small kids at home and it’s hard for them. I didn’t get any help and they don’t update us.”
Saint Rita’s patient, “I was admitted on the 29th of June, the doctors are not attending to us. We just sleep and eat every day without our injuries being treated.”
Meanwhile, the Limpopo Health Department’s spokesperson Neil Shikwambana says referrals from other hospitals around the Sekhukhune District are the cause of the backlog.
“You should understand firstly that we have got orthopaedic specialists but they are not many. For instance, in the hospital that we’re talking about, which is Saint Rita’s, we only have one orthopaedic specialist and it’s a referral hospital where other district hospitals in Sekhukhune refer their orthopaedic cases to.
However we can report that in that particular hospital Saint Rita’s the orthopedic specialist has managed to clear the in-house backlog which was experienced in the facility, they are now focusing on referral cases from other hospitals in and around Sekhukhune.”
