Clinics run on skeleton staff before Easter

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In Maria Rantho, patients complained about slow service delivery shortly before Human Rights Day. A clinic sister indicated that some personnel, like the administrator, had knocked off earlier living about 30 chronic patients without files so they were unable get their medication.

When I asked the sister why they could not demand that the administrator return to work said, “Even if we can call nothing will change because the administrator stays as far as Mpumalanga.

The nurse vowed to give the needy TB and HIV patient medication that would last them for a week to avoid them defaulting. However such a favour was done without the patients’ history because their files were locked away.

“Since 15 March 2013, I was turned back without my ARVs because the files were locked away by a person who stays as far away as Mpumalanga” said an ARV patient who asked to remain anonymous.

He indicated that he hadn’t taken his treatment since that day and he was afraid of the consequences of defaulting.

In Clinic 2, some patients were allegedly turned back because they came for treatment at around 2pm but clinic staff members were preparing to go home.

However, a patient who only wanted to be identified as Irene said, “Although I was warned not to come late, nurses were able to give me my family planning injection”.

Tshilidzi Tuwani is an OurHealth Citizen Journalist reporting from Soshanguve in the Tshwane health district in Gauteng.