Picture: Workers at embattled Mahikeng Provincial Hospital in North West embarked on a peaceful march
By OBAKENG MAJE
North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha is expected to brief the media on the progress of the investigation regarding the incident that took place at the embattled Bophelong Provincial Hospital in Mahikeng, where newly-born babies were put in cardboard boxes on Saturday.
The hospital delivered 47 newborn babies and there was a shortage of cribs and incubators. The situation forced the nurses and doctors who were on duty that day to improvise by putting four babies without cribs and incubators in cardboard boxes.
However, their actions caused an outcry. Amid that, Sambatha lodged an investigation and placed two officials, the nursing supervisor and nursing manager at the neo-natal unit on precautionary suspension. The smooth-running operation of the hospital was affected on Monday, as doctors and nurses down tools with the solidarity of suspended nurses.
This led Sambatha to engage in a consultative meeting with representatives from various unions in a quest to map a way forward.
“I am satisfied with the progress registered, first with the team that is conducting the investigation into the incident that saw nurses at the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital place newly born babies on boxes instead of incubators.
“Secondly, I believe the meeting with union leaders, inclusive of nurses’ unions, DENOSA, and NEHAWU paved the way for implementing key interventions that will improve operations at the hospital. The meeting acknowledged challenges that contributed to the situation as systemic and structural,” he said.
He further said, for example, the issue of limited space in the hospital, which he already highlighted in the Budget Speech, even stating that the hospital will be expanded with additional 100 beds was acknowledged as a contributing factor, and suggestions on other solutions were provided.
Sambatha added that, as part of further increasing space in the facility, the hospital management has already started engaging the provincial infrastructure to procure a park home that will provide enough space for the neonatal unit.
“Such move should not mean delay on additional 100 beds. The hospital had already advanced with the procurement of additional cribs and baby incubators. It was also acknowledged as a sign that the hospital had anticipated the need to address the challenge of space for newborn babies.
“The meeting emphasised the need to find solutions and to stop pointing fingers at individuals. In that spirit, both the union leaders and I agreed that the suspension of the employees directly involved was not meant as a punitive measure but a precautionary suspension,” said Sambatha.
According to Sambatha, he never concluded that the suspended employees are guilty without due process. He said he had been consistent in saying that the suspension was precautionary.
“A precautionary suspension is often given where the employer thinks that the employees may interfere with the investigation because of them being directly implicated but no one can say they are guilty when the investigation is still ongoing.
“The meeting admitted that most of the challenges affecting the hospital even contributing to the incident require the management collective accountability and no individual can be entirely blamed since the challenges are systemic and structural,” said Sambatha.
Meanwhile, the COSATU provincial secretary, Kopano Konopi said: “Workers must not be used as the scapegoat for the failure of the authorities. We have learned with disappointment that Sambatha wants to use workers as sacrificial lambs on the failures of the department to provide quality health care to the people of the province.
“Sambatha and his department should be using this challenge to deal with the issues of shortage of medical equipment in the health facilities in the province and come up with a plan to resource them and not to target workers for being creative.”
Konopi said Sambatha should conduct an audit on the state of the health facilities in the province and this should be done at the same speed, as the investigation against the workers was conducted and the report should be released by next week as this is important to improve the quality of health service in the province.
The Guardian 