By OBAKENG MAJE
North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha will conduct oversight visits to hospitals around the Ngaka Modiri Molema and Bojanala Districts. This comes after the reports over food shortages at the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital (MPH) and Lehurutshe Hospital in Zeerust.
Sambatha said he will do an oversight visit at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital in Mahikeng on Friday from 2pm until 3pm. He further said that he will visit Lehurutshe Hospital in Zeerust on Friday at 4pm until 5pm.
“On Saturday, I will be conducting an oversight visit at Moses Kotane Hospital in Ledig at 11am until 12pm. Then, I will be at Job Shimankane Tabane Hospital in Rustenburg from 1pm until 2pm. The department has noted with serious concern allegations currently circulating on social media platforms saying there is a shortage of food in hospitals.
“The department said the information goes on to call on families of patients to go to hospitals to take their patients on the basis of the alleged shortage of food. We wish to strongly condemn this misinformed and ill-conceived call, which violates patients’ rights and seeks to cause confusion and panic in public health facilities,” he said.
Sambatha further said, while the misinformation seeks to paint a picture of total and widespread shortage of food, the department can only confirm that, a quick investigation on the matter revealed that the quantity of food was the only issue of concern.
He added that, it turned out that some of the items of food were missing from the normal meals at Lehurutshe/Zeerust Hospital Complex, but the management quickly identified this and intervened.
“This challenge has been traced to inadequate supplies from the contracted service provider. However, the hospital was quickly authorised to procure the food items on an emergency basis.
“The other hospitals, which were also cited in some of the social media posts including Klerksdorp/Tshepong and Witrand. The department also implemented an emergency procurement to beef up the food stock levels,” said Sambatha.
He said, the members of the public are advised to report any issue of concern to the department for intervention before causing public panic on essential services in health facilities.
The Guardian 