Two Eastern Cape emergency medical service (EMS) workers were left stranded in Cape Town last week with no place to sleep after driving for almost 14 hours from Mthatha.
On Wednesday evening, Bonginkosi Vinjwa and Simon Tsala were tasked with transporting a one-month-old infant from the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, to the Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town.
“We arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning around 11 am. We took the child to the Red Cross Hospital. He was admitted and everything was fine; we managed him well on the way without challenges,” Mvinjwa tells Health-e News.
By the time the two men had completed their work, they had not received confirmation of their accommodation.
“We called our supervisor, who said they are sorting out our accommodation, and were on top of it. We were then called by a manager from the EMS station in Mthatha, who asked for our ID numbers and initials to book the accommodation.”
After not receiving feedback for an hour, Mvinjwa and Tsala called the manager back at noon on Thursday.
“He said there was no electricity, and our booking had not been done. We won’t have a place to sleep,” says Mvinjwa.
Sleeping rough
After learning that they didn’t have accommodation, the duo went to the petrol station across the road from the hospital. There they waited for several hours, hoping for an update about their accommodation. But the day turned into night, and they ended up sleeping in the patient transport vehicle they had parked at the filling station.
On Friday morning, they drove to Khayelitsha in search of something cheap to eat. There they met a stranger at a shisanyama vendor, and asked to take a bath at his shack in Endlovini informal settlement.
“We didn’t even have money for food. We asked them to give us water to bathe in the morning. The people in Khayelitsha were asking us, how did we get inside that place. Because ambulances don’t get in there unless they are escorted by the police,” says Mvinjwa.
The two left Cape Town around four o’clock that afternoon.
“How can the department entrust us with a vehicle worth R1.3 million and then say we can sleep anywhere we want. We are sick and tired of being disrespected. You can’t drive 1280 km from Mthatha to Cape Town only to sleep in the car, while working for the government,” he adds.
“We put our lives at great risk. They didn’t even give us food. We had to make our own means.”
Accommodation was ‘not needed’
Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson, Siyanda Manana denies that the department snubbed their employees.
“Yes, the vehicle was transferring a child to Cape Town. A request for transfer arrived on Wednesday with a Thursday booking. EMS engaged the doctor in Mthatha and indicated that due to the short notice, it may not be possible to secure accommodation for Thursday, proposing a rebooking to perhaps Friday or Monday,” he says.
According to Manana, it was the two men who asked for the assignment, saying that they had family in Cape Town and wouldn’t need accommodation. Mvinjwa refutes this.
“We never said anything about having relatives to sleep at. He is lying blatantly. Why would they request our ID numbers and names on Thursday, promising to secure a booking if we already had alternative accommodation?” adds Mvinjwa.
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Despite assertions by Manana, a letter signed by Eastern Cape EMS director, AK Munilal, admits to an “administrative oversight” in this matter.
“The affected employees departed with the understanding that accommodation arrangements would be finalised whilst en route, but unfortunately, this did not materialise as intended,” says the letter that Health-e News has seen.
The letter states that the required logistical support should have been finalised before departure, “particularly given the long distance involved and the importance of rest and recovery for operational safety and effectiveness”.
The letter says the department views this lapse in planning seriously and that the responsible administrative team will be cautioned, and additional measures are being implemented to prevent recurrence.
Bad treatment ‘a norm’ in Mthatha
Mvinjwa says this isn’t the first time there has been a mix-up with their accommodation. Apparently, they often sleep in the ambulance when travelling to Gqeberha.
“Last year, I was even kicked out of the bed and breakfast in Durban because the Department of Health failed to pay our accommodation,” he says.
South African Emergency Personnel Union (SAEPU) general secretary. Ntsapo Mhlauli says they have been fighting against the ill-treatment of emergency workers.
“There is just a lot when we talk about their accommodation during working hours. Other districts have tried, but in Mthatha, the situation is bad. We are not asking for fancy accommodation, just a comfortable space where they can rest after driving long hours,” says Mhlauli. – Health-e News
