This follows after the department was approached by a private company to provide physical security at the hospital, and also roped in the expertise of the security cluster.

The security upgrade features and assessment follows after two incidents where female doctors were attacked just a week apart. 

OFM News previously reported that a medical intern bit off a man's tongue during an attempted rape while the intern was on duty, and a female doctor was robbed at gunpoint at the hospital.

The departmental spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, tells OFM News that the department has embarked on a rigorous venture with hopes of making sure that security issues in that hospital are dealt with promptly.

Mondli says the company has assessed the doctors waiting on-call rooms and they have installed a security gate and says 6-7 rooms of these doctors have now being fitted with these security gates. 

He says the partnership encouraged the department to negotiate further with the company with hopes of looking further into other areas such as the pediatrics ward on the third floor of the hospital. 

OFM News previously reported that the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, provincial health MEC, Montsheng Tsiu, and the University of the Free State said immediate interventions, which include beefed up security, more CCTV cameras, fixed security locks, and limited access control to the premises, among other things, have been put in place at the Pelonomi Hospital. 

This follows after Mkhize’s visit to the Hospital before he went and visited the family of a 24-year-old intern doctor, following the attempted rape at Pelonomi.

OFM News