EFF CONDEMNS DEPLORABLE CONDITIONS AT SEBOKENG HOSPITAL
Thursday, 23 July 2020
The Economic Freedom Fighters condemns deplorable conditions at Sebokeng Hospital, which have resulted in inhumane treatment and most disturbingly a death.
It has been brought to our attention that a patient who was taken to the hospital at approximately 14:00 on the 22nd of July 2020 was only attended to at 21:00 that evening. Upon arrival, the patient was taken to a tent instead of a ward, which is the procedure as things stand at the hospital. This means being subjected to possibly cold conditions and exposed to infection.
As a result of COVID-19 protocol at hospitals, which does not allow for visitation by family members, the family was unable to provide toiletries directly to the patient and had to pass the items on at the gate of the hospital through a security guard. Sadly, the family has since been informed of the death of their family member on the afternoon of the 23rd of July 2020.
The family was unable to make any form of contact with the patient. This is despite a letter from the Gauteng Department of Health, through its Head of Department Mkhululi Lukhele, which stipulated that there must be a time dedicated to taking family calls to allay the concerns of the family members of admitted patients, who cannot be visited as a result of COVID-19 conditions.
The manner in which the lives of human beings are being handled at this hospital is disturbing and discouraging. Seemingly, to take a loved one to hospital during this time is to deliver them to unforeseen and mysterious deaths, without ever being able to track their condition and ensure their safety as a result of protocols.
The EFF calls for an inquiry into the death of this patient at Sebokeng Hospital and a review of the procedure of admitting a patient which take time and expose individuals to cold conditions and put them at risk of infection.
Furthermore, the situation at Sebokeng Hospital and many other hospitals is a result of a government which has claimed to be ready to handle the surge of COVID-19 infections but is not. Their state of readiness has been in the preparing of graves, a sign of their incompetence and surrender to the deadly Coronavirus.
The very protocols which result in patients dying alone, neglected and hungry are a result of a government that failed to use the lockdown period to prepare infrastructure and create hospitals that will be able to manage the surge of COVID-19 infections while maintaining a semblance of humane treatment of sick patients.
The commitment of the government to corruption and profit instead of lives is sickening and must be condemned. These hospitals are overwhelmed because of a reckless reopening of the economy while there is no scientific indication that we are ready as a country to handle COVID-19. The lives lost in hospitals by those seeking assistance must rest heavily on the conscious of Ramaphosa, who chose profit over the sanctity of human life.
Statement issued by the EFF, 24 July 2020
