Dunoon residents are threatening to stage a peaceful protest at the township’s community health centre over what they say is poor service there.
Ill-treatment by staff, patients being turned away, double bookings, inadequate waiting areas with not enough seating, and insufficient shelter for patients forced to queue outside. These are just some of the complaints levelled by unhappy residents.
On Monday, a community activist, Thembelani Ndabezimbi, asked residents to vote on a Dunoon Facebook page whether they supported a protest.
At the time of publishing, there were 500 votes in favour of a protest, with 200 of those asking for it to be on Tuesday September 19 and the other 300 saying they supported a protest as long as it met all legal requirements. There were 30 votes for the protest to be held on Friday September 8. There were no votes against the protest.
Nothemba Jika told Tabletalk she had always had horrible experiences at the hospital and opted for private medical care whenever she could afford it.
“My last experience was about two months ago. I had a terrible cough, my back and chest were constantly sore and all on top of having a very high temperature. It felt like the time I had Covid-19.
“I got to the clinic around 7.30am and was in the queue for nearly three hours. I got to the front of the queue and was told I was too late and can’t get any assistance and that I would have to come on another day.
“That didn’t make any sense to me because I went there quite early. How is it that when I am sick, I go to a place for medical assistance and then get told I won’t be able to get help? What is the whole point of this medical facility? This is why I go to a private doctor when I have the means.”
Yolanda Msindo said that in February she had waited from 7am until 1pm for a doctor to see her.
“The summer sun was baking us all waiting outside. I am sure people probably get even more sick just because of waiting in long queues outside in the rain and sunshine. In my case, after waiting all those hours, I was told to go home and come back the following Monday.
“It is not easy to just keep taking days off from work to go to the clinic and then be told they can’t help you that day. And can you imagine that most people in Dunoon don’t have cars so they have to walk to and from the clinic while sick whether they will get help or not.”
Luvuyo Beja complained on Facebook about getting poor service when he took his child to the facility in the evening.
“A few nights ago around 7pm, I took my child to the clinic. The doctors and nurses are mean and not very nice or sympathetic people. It was an emergency but around 10.30pm, my child still had not received attention. I then found out while I was there that there were patients who had been there since 3pm that afternoon.
“We were all wondering where the doctors and nurses were, only to find out they were sitting at reception, relaxed on the chairs and playing on their cellphones. Some were sleeping. They don’t care at all.”
Mr Ndabezimbi said there had been many complaints about the service at the hospital but nothing ever changed.
“It is a very sad situation. We have endured too much mistreatment and something has to be done. We are hoping this march we are planning will be the first of many attempts to help our community,” he said.
Natalie Watlington, spokeswoman for the Western Cape Department of Health, said that the department has a fast-tracking and prioritisation process for the very sick and elderly patients. With regards to the appointment system, Ms Watlington said that the clinic works on an appointment basis, however, they do accommodate walk-in patients depending on the patient load for the day.
“Our appointment system allows us to see an average of 200 clients daily. Our walk-in system regularly takes an average of 120 clients that are acutely ill. Our child health system sees about 80 sick children daily.
“We are not able to see all the walk-in patients present“’ing on the day as the demand can often exceed 250 to 300 clients daily. We have a triage process whereby we can see the very ill clients as a priority. The triage process is colour coded. Red meaning life-threatening illnesses or injuries, orange meaning serious but not life-threatening, yellow meaning not life-threatening, and green meaning non-urgent or minor,” she said.
Ms Watlington added that the appointment system was implemented because of the high demand in healthcare from all the communities the clinic accommodates. The clinic serves communities like Dunoon, Site 5, Siyahala, Wolwerivier, Phoenix, Joe Slovo, Brooklyn, Rugby, Table View, Milnerton, Parklands, Albow Gardens, Killarney Gardens, Melkbos, West Beach and Blouberg.
Tabletalk asked about whether mobile clinics would be available in the near future to deal with the paitent demand. Ms Watlington said: “Currently we are looking for a space in the Dunoon community to establish a wellness hub. The department would appreciate it if the community leaders can assist with finding/identifying a suitable space in the community, as health is everybody’s business.”
Residents are encouraged to become part of the health committee at the Dunoon Community Health Centre. The next health committee meeting will be on Friday September 29 at noon (12pm) in the clinic’s boardroom. The clinic’s facility manager, Reuben Christoffels, can be contacted at 021 200 4501 or Reuben.Christoffels@westerncape.gov.za for further enquiries.
Any complaints, feedback or suggestions can be done by writing and putting in the suggestion box at the clinic, sending a “Please call me” to 079 769 1207, calling 0860 142 142, or email service@westerncape.gov.za
• This article has been updated since it was first published.
