The MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha, made a surprise visit to one of the local clinics in Boikhutso on Tuesday. 

According to the health spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane, MEC Sambatha found that this clinic operates with only 2 staff members while attending to 1200 patients a month. In his oversight, Sambatha also found that there is only one professional nurse with only a Community Health Worker (CHW) to assist. The clinic also operates without a security guard whilst it operates from Monday to Friday. Lekgethwane says MEC Sambatha is now planning an intervention.

“The clinic needs to be capacitated according to the MEC and this will be given to the managers of the district to evaluate the MEC’s report, give answers and provide the intervention plan. The issue of a community health worker that is assisting a professional nurse, is a concern because this is a huge responsibility. It will also form part of the things that the district manager will have to look at and provide reasons as to why this is the situation, and what they will do to address the situation. Not all of our clinics operate 24 hours or 7 days a week. The nature of the health services delivery, according to the norms and standards that looks at the number of people that turn out at the facility, [determines] that when a clinic is not operational for 24 hours or 7 days a week, then there must be a community health centre closeby that operates 24 hours. The issue of security is a concern and it will be investigated as to why there is no security there, because all our facilities need to have security,” he adds.

In April, the North West Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development visited Kgakala Clinic near Leeudoringstad and found that it had a shortage of staff and keeps running out of medication - with some medication that has expired.

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During the oversight visit, the chairperson of the Committee, Gavin Edwards, revealed that the clinic does not open on weekends and public holidays and also has no generator or borehole.

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