FF Plus report reveals serious human rights abuses and atrocities in South Africa’s healthcare system

22 November 2023  

A countrywide campaign by the FF Plus which invited the public to share their experiences of poor treatment at state healthcare institutions elicited an overwhelming response.

It paints a disturbing picture of human rights abuses, utter decline in service delivery and infrastructure, as well as staff's incompetence and indifferent attitude towards the plight and suffering of patients.

The FF Plus compiled a report of approximately 500 pages detailing hundreds of complaints received between July 2022 and August this year, naming 93 of the country's public healthcare institutions.

The report has also been submitted to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) for investigation. It is also available on the FF Plus website at the following link: https://www.vfplus.org.za/latest-news/the-horrors-of-state-and-provincial-hospitals-in-the-republic -of-south-africa/

The report contains countless tales of inhumane treatment and negligence, which resulted in the deaths of many people. Graphic details and photos are also contained in the report.

One such example (accompanied by photos) is an incident that transpired at the National District Hospital in Bloemfontein where a pregnant woman in labour's cries for help were reportedly simply ignored. The baby was stillborn after which it was placed in a medical waste bag and thrown into a waste bin before the very eyes of its shocked parents.

Another case in the Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital describes how a person's leg was amputated with nothing but an epidural. He was able to hear and even smell the bone being sawn through.

After a while, the feeling started to return to his leg and he reportedly begged doctors to stop, but they simply continued with the procedure. Anaesthetic was only administered after the pain became absolutely unbearable when his nerves were being severed.

These and many other examples amount to a serious accusation against a government that has no empathy for the suffering of the sick.

It simultaneously serves as irrefutable proof that the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) is doomed to fail. Government is not even able to manage the current system properly.

The NHI has no realistic chance of success and will ultimately totally destroy healthcare for all South Africans.

The FF Plus kindly requests all interested parties to support its petition against the NHI using this link: No to the NHI | Freedom Front Plus (vfplus.org.za)

Issued by Philip van Staden, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson: Health, 22 November 2023