Duration: 6min 04sec

Transcript

THANDEKA: UGqirha Fred Rank nowongamele izibhedlele zoluntu ezintathu zase Bhayi ezingaphantsi kwePort Elizabeth Hospital Complex ezizezi iLivingstone, iPort Elizabeth Provincial Hospital neDora Nginza uthi iingxaki abahlangabezana nazo ngoku azohlukanga tu kwezingaphambili ababethubeleza ngaphantsi kwazo phambi komnyka ka 1994.

 Translation: The Port Elizabeth Hospital Complex comprises three public hospitals, the Livingstone, Port Elizabeth Provincial and Dora Nginza Hospitals. Like many other public hospitals they are faced with problems ranging from shortages of nurses, bed linen and plumbing breakdowns that lead to the flooding of facilities. Dr Fred Rank, Chief Superintendent at the Livingstone Hospital and PE Hospital Complex says, the challenges they are faced with in the health sector are not different from the ones they faced prior to1994.

DR RANK: I don’€™t think the challenges were any different than it was before 1994. Budget cuts in the hospital started in the late 80’€™s already so that was nothing new to us. We’€™ve experienced it before but the unfortunate thing is it continued for a few years. I must say for the past three or four years things have improved quite a bit. We have been getting additional funding through national grants and we managed to upgrade some of our services.

THANDEKA: Xa bendindwendwele eLivingstone kwi ward 5 nenamacala amabini, elamadoda nabafazi bekubonakala mhlophe ukuba kusafuneka kusekuninzi ekufuneka kulungisiwe ezibhedlele nangona iingubo bezicocekile kodwa bezidlaka-dlaka zindala. UGqirha Ranks uthi ukwebiwa kwengubo namashiti ezibhedlele kuyingxaki.

Translation: When I visited the Livingstone Hospital’€™s Ward 5, which is includes male and female sections, it was clear that a lot remains to be done. Patients lay under torn sheets and worn out blankets. New bed linen had disappeared due to staff theft. Patients claim that in most cases they bring their own linen. Bed linen theft at the hospitals is a major problem says, Dr. Rank.

DR RANK: We’€™ve had a huge problem in our laundry in that lot of our linen was torn by our machines which are about 30 years old so we always had problem with bed linen. We’€™ve never really asked people to bring in their own linen but they do, especially duvets, because sometimes we cannot provide them with enough blankets. In the last couple of months we have been able to buy some more linen and things have improved slightly, but we realized that we still have a long way to go and we will probably look in the New Year to concentrating in improving our bed linen. We lose a lot of linen at the hospital – there’€™s a lot of theft. People take our linen especially things like towels, bed sheets and pillow cases we lose lots of that. Even mattresses, small casualty trolleys mattresses they disappear. Even with the security, they seem to be going so we are not sure how they get out but we are really losing a lot of linen and it’€™s a huge concern to us in the hospitals. We have told our security now to check up and search every car, even ambulances which go out. We think they might be going out that way through ambulances or mortuary vehicles. We are not sure but we have said everybody must be searched now.

Translation: Sibe nengxaki enkulu kwilaundry yethu kuba kaloku iingubo ziyakrazukazikrazulwa ngumashini omdala oneminyaka engamashumi amathathu yiyo lento besisoloko sinengxaki nengubo namashiti.Kodwa asizange nakanye sicele ukuba abantu baze neengubo zabo kodwa sibabona besiza nazo kuba ke ngelinye ixesha asinazo ngokwaneleyo siye singabanqandi. Kwiinyangana nje ezidlulileyo sikwazile ukuthenga amshiti neengubo noko imeko iyancumisa nangona kunjalo sisenoxanduva lokuba siphucule kulo mba weengubo neyinto esizakuyinika ingqalelo kunyaka omtsha.

Silahlekelwa kakhulu ziingubo apha esibhedlele ngenxa yobusela abantu baba iingubo, iitawule, amashiti ii-pillow, oomatrasi zonke ezi zinto ziyanyamalala. Asiyazi ukuba ziphuma njani. Sicele oonogada ukuba bajonge yonke imoto ephumayo kwakunye nee ambulance neeveni ezithwala izidumbu kuba kaloku singayazi ukuba ziduka njani wonke umntu uyajongwa.

THANDEKA: Ixesha yintsimbi yesithandathu kungo Mgqibelo emva kwemini, Ndilapha eLivingstone isibhedlele esikhulu salapha eBhayi. Nelixesha lokungena kwabantu kuba bezokujonga abantu abagualayo babo. Ndihlangane nesizalwane siphethele isizalwane ingubo kuba sisithi ingubo azikho kwesi sibhedlele.

Translation: It’€™s 18H00 on Saturday. And it’€™s visiting time at the Livingstone Hospital. Relatives arrive with fresh linen for those at hospital.

 A RELATIVE VISITING HER COUSIN: Iingubo zalapha zidlaka-dlaka. Umntu kufuneka umphathel’€™ingubo yakho azokulala ngayo otherwise akukho zingubo apha. Azikho iingubo.

THANDEKA: Njengokuba besithi akufuneki nize neengubo because zikhona.

Translation: We are told you’€™re not supposed to bring your own linen because there’€™s linen.

A RELATIVE: Akukho zingubo apha. Lo mntu wethu ulele ka ward 5A thina simphathele iingubo kuba azikho iingubo apha zidlaka-dlaka ayizo ngubo ezi ngoodonki.

Translation: There are no blankets here they are torn. We have to bring our own blankets for our relative whose at Ward 5A.

THANDEKA: Eminye yemicelimngeni kwiSebe lezeMpilo loMzantsi Afrika elijongene nayo kukuphulukana nabasebenzi bezempilo abahamba bayokuxelenga kumzawe angaphesheya okanye baye kwimizi yabucala nalapho behlawulwa ngcono. Ingaba ke ifuthe loku livakala njani kwizibhedlele? UGqirha Rank.

Translation: A key challenge facing South Africa’€™s public health system is the shortage of health workers ‘€“ many of whom are moving abroad or into the private sector for better pay. Dr Rank explains.

DR RANK: The biggest problem is that we have shortages all over. We are very short of nurses. We have filled a few posts. We are hoping to get some more nursing posts filled as soon as we get more nurses. Obviously it’€™s places like casualty that gets priority. It is really a big problem; nurses at the moment are really overworked and overstretched a bit with the additional work

Translation: Eyona ngxaki inkulu yeyokunqongophala kwabantu kwiinkonzo zonke. Sifuna abongikazi. Siye saqasha kwindawo ezithile. Sinethemba lokufumana abanye abongikazi abongezelekileyo ukuba sizakuqasha kungekudala. Sijonge ukuba siqashe ikakhulu abantu abazakusebenza ecasualty. Sisengxakini abongikazi basebenza ngaphezu komlinganiselo yaye bekwajongene nomsebenzi owongezelekileyo.

THANDEKA: Ingaba ke kutheni abongikazi benqongophele?

Translation: Why is there still a shortage of nurses?

DR RANK: It seem we didn’€™t get the number of applicants for the post that we expected we’€™ve got lots of vacancies and it seems that we cannot attract enough nurses in to the hospitals. We are obviously going to advertise again with the hope of getting more. We’€™ve got a few but not enough at all. Hopefully the new incentive package that the government has introduced will attract more nurses out of the private sector into the public sector. Most of our young nurses unfortunately are running over sees and a lot of our older nurses are now also going and some of more experienced nurses are going to the private sector. And as I said with this incentive we will draw some of our experienced nurses back into the government sector like ICU trained nurses, Burns. Oncology those sort of highly trained nurses we hope to track back into the government service.

Translation: Kukhangeleka ngathi akhange sifumane inani elaneleyo esasililindele labagqatswa ababefake izicelo zokuqashwa. Kusekho amathuba avulelekileyo mhlawumbi akhange sikwazi ukutsala umdla kubongikazi ukuba baze apha ezibhedlele. Mhlawumbi kwimali esisbonelelo karhulumente noko izinto zizakuba ngcono nabantu bayakuthi bafake izicelo zemisebenzi bayeke ukuya kwizibhedlele zabucala. Abongikzai abancinci ngeminyaka baye babheke kumazwe aphesheya aba sele beqinile benolwazi oluthe kratya baya kwiizibhedlele zabucala. Njengokuba besendibalule ukuba ezizibonelelo ziza kuloba abongikazi abanolwazi nabaqeqeshelwe ukujongana neenkozno ezikhethekileyo ezibhedlele ukba babuyele ekhaya kurhulumente.

THANDEKA: Despite the total of R5.1 billion being allocated to health care in the Eastern Cape for 2003 to 2004, Dr Rank says more is needed for delivery.

Translation: Nangona kuqikelelwa ukuba malunga nezigidi ezi- R5.1 sebillion   nesisibonelele sezeMpilo kwiPhondo leMpuma Koloni kumnyaka 2003 ukuya kmnyaka ka2004, ugqirha Ranks uthi kusafuneka eninzi.

DR. RANK: I don’€™t think we can really complain the service definitely hasn’€™t gone down but it has probably not improved as much as we would like to have. We still have similar problems that we had ten years ago. We have addressed a lot of the issues that gave us problems before 1994. Things like inequity of services to various communities that has been addressed. In that sense we have done a lot of work where hospitals like Dora Nginza is now providing a service to the community, which didn’€™t happen 10 years ago. Things have changed in that, but unfortunately again the funding that we got for the health services was insufficient for us to develop it as much as I would like to develop. I would have expected much more to happen. Another area that hasn’€™t progressed much is the district health development. We should by now have had lots more clinics and lots more community health services in Port Elizabeth to cater for the communities, so that they don’€™t all have to flock to the hospitals. Unfortunately this hasn’€™t happened yet, despite this being the government’€™s policy to develop district health services. We haven’€™t seen much happening and hopefully in the next couple of years thing s will happen. We are not coping because instead of going to a clinic or going to a community health system, people are flooding the hospital and the hospitals are over worked at the moment they cannot cope with the numbers. If you go to the hospital you’€™ll find people waiting for months before they can see a doctor, which is really unfair. People should really be seeing doctors much sooner. It is because our specialists are dealing with things they shouldn’€™t be dealing with. Things that should have been handled in the primary health care services. I think the aim in the next couple of years would be to get primary health care services off the ground so that it can take patients out of the hospitals so that the hospital doctors can concentrate on what their actual work is.

Translation: Andiqondi ukuba singakhalaza kangako kuba ngokwenene iinkozno aziwanga nto nje aziphucukanga ngendlele ebesifuna ngayo. Sise neengxaki ezifanayo nesasinazo kwiminyaka elishumi edlulileyo. Kodwa siye sakwazi ukuphucula kwimiba ethile izinto ezifana nokuziswa kweenkonzo eluntwini neyinto eyayinqabile phambi kuka 1994. Kulo mba kanye sesisebenze kakhulu kuba sakhe nezibhedlele ezifana neDora Nginza. Kumba wezibonelelo zemali kwicnadelo leMpilo lowo ngumba othsisibunzi kuba asikhange sikwazi ukwenza izinto ebesifuna ukuzenza kuba ndicinga bekumelel ukbua sesineekliniki ezininzi namaziko empilo amaninzi apha eBhayi nazakujongana neemfuno zabantu kwenzele ukuba bangazokugcwala ezibhedlele kodwa ke oku akwenzeki. Nangona ingummiselo karhulumente ukuba lamzaiko empilo abekhona kodwa ke sinethemba ukuba kwiminyakana nje ezayo zonke ezi ngxaki zizakusonjululwa. Kunzima asikwazi ukumelana nomsebenzi omninzi endaweni ukuba uluntu luye kwikliniki namaziko oluntu empilo lugcwala ezibhedlele nezithi ziphuphume neyinto enika ubunzima abasebenzi nabangakwaziyo ukwenza umsebenzi wabo kuba abantu kumele beye kumaziko asekuhlaleni empilo khonukuze bangazokulindela ukubonwa ngugqirha emva kwexesha elide. Kufuneka kuzanywe indlela zokuba oogqirha basezibhedlele bayekwe bezne umsebezni wabo bangaxinwa ngabantu ebekumele ukuba bafumane uncedo kumaziko asekuhlaleni.

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