This as the University of the Free State (UFS) confirms the victim in Tuesday night’s attempted rape is a student at the institution’s School of Medicine, pursuing her graduate studies.

UFS Spokesperson, Lacea Loader, says in a written statement the university’s management had expressed its concerns about safety measures in place at Pelonomi with the hospital’s management prior to the unfortunate incident.

Loader says this is because the hospital, which is flanked by the Bochabela township and Heidedal, is considered a clinical training platform where medical students are trained. The University maintains it will continue to engage with the Department of Health in the Free State on the importance of beefing up security at clinical training facilities.

The UFS’s statement comes as Pelonomi staff, including nurses, cleaners and a few junior doctors went on a brief strike after word of the attempted rape got out as day shift staff arrived for work on Wednesday morning. Management then met with labour representatives and have promised to brief staff regarding their safety concerns.

A female doctor at the Free State hospital bit off a man’s tongue as he attempted to rape her while she was sleeping in one of the overnight staff quarters on Tuesday night. The Free State Health Department confirms the perpetrator is a former patient at the hospital who is originally from Bronville in Welkom. He is reported to have first come to the hospital’s casualty ward the Saturday before the incident and did not show any signs of illness but did display what Health Department spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, describes as “social issues”.

Following the attack, the suspect fled to the National Hospital where they realised he fit the description of the perpetrator in the incident which was already reported to all health facilities in the Bloemfontein area. Police were called and took him back to Pelonomi where he was identified by his victim. “Thereafter, the alleged perpetrator was admitted at Universitas Plastic Surgery. He was operated on under police guard during the early hours of this morning for his bitten tongue. He is kept and treated in an undisclosed location and will be handed over to the police,” says Mvambi.

This is not the first reported rape incident at the hospital. In late 2010 a 35-year-old doctor, who was specialising in paediatrics, was hit over the head with a brick and raped. She was heading for the neo-natal unit on the ground floor at about 02:00 when the accused overpowered her on a dark staircase and raped her. The matter, which was widely covered in the media at the time, evoked anger in the medical fraternity and raised questions – even in parliament - regarding the safety of health professionals at state facilities. The convicted suspect in the 2010 case was only 16 years old at the time.

While Mvambi has confirmed the attempted rape, he was yet to respond to queries on the meeting and concerns over safety.

OFM News