Don't use KZN hospitals as political playgrounds, MEC warns communities

10 February 2023 - 13:21 By MFUNDO MKHIZE
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KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has warned communities not to resist change meant to benefit them. File photo.
KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has warned communities not to resist change meant to benefit them. File photo.
Image: Supplied

KwaZulu-Natal health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has warned the public not to use hospitals as political playgrounds.

This comes after aggrieved people on Wednesday demonstrated outside Thulasizwe Hospital, a multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) treatment facility in Ulundi, in the north of the province.

“We would like to remind those who are opposed to our plans that hospitals are not playgrounds but sacred spaces that deal with critical matters of life and death. As such, they should not be subjected to undue political interference,” said Simelane.

Over the years, the facility has recorded a decline in patient numbers, attributed by the department to low TB-infection numbers in the area, as well as improved and decentralised treatment approaches that do not require patient admissions. Patients can also seek treatment at nearby Ceza Hospital.

Simelane said the department plans to reconfigure the old and dilapidated hospital into a primary healthcare clinic for the community.

It was initially built by missionaries who used clay building blocks, making it unsafe and without scope for development.

“We are aware there is a hidden political hand with certain personal interests that is inciting the community and orchestrating public unrest around this matter, which is extremely unfortunate,” Simelane alleged.

She added that the consultative process — which included meeting local and traditional leadership, the hospital board, organised labour, other stakeholders and community members — has been finalised.

“The process of rationing services accordingly at all identified institutions in the province was in its final stages when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, resulting in the halting of the process,” she said.

It had, however, resumed without “political interference”.

She added that this was in line with the department's objective of repositioning healthcare facilities to eradicate duplication, wastefulness and inadequate allocation of human and material resources.

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