The Department of Health in Limpopo has suspended the 24-hour services offered at Sambandou Clinic, in Tshitavha Village, 25km outside of Thohoyandou, after a patient assaulted a nurse.
According to a senior staff member, who spoke to Health-e News on the condition of anonymity, the patient went to the clinic in the early hours of Sunday, demanding immediate attention.
“The man came in with a cut to his head and demanded that the nurse leave the patient she was attending to and look at him first. But the nurse was still busy helping someone who was struggling to breathe and was in a very critical condition,” the staff member says.
“When the nurse refused, explaining she was helping the other patient, the culprit proceeded to force his way into the consulting room and assaulted her.”
The man allegedly slapped the nurse across the face. He then broke the lock off the door and hit the nurse in the face with it, injuring her. The staff member says the assailant even grabbed a chair and chased the two nurses who were on duty around the facility.
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Other colleagues and the security guard heard the screams for help and came to the rescue.
“The patient came with a car that was parked outside the clinic, where they were a group. After doing this, they removed the gate and fled the scene.”
The nurse is currently on leave and recovering from the attack at home.
He said this is not the first incident of this nature at the clinic, and they continuously live in fear as criminals do as they please.
“In late 2023, my car was taken from inside the clinic. People who came and pretended to be patients pointed a gun at me and demanded the keys to my car. They took off. Fortunately, my car was later found in Vuwani.
“We constantly live in fear, and we have addressed the issue of security for our clinic with the Department of Health, but we have not been helped yet,” he adds.
No more 24/7 health services
Clinic committee chairperson, Gerson Mufamadi, tells Health-e News that Sambandou is the only clinic in the Vhembe region that provides 24-hour health services, which have now been suspended.
“It serves more than seven villages. This is going to do harm to our community. We have met with the department, as villagers, and the security personnel. We are looking at solutions for how we can keep the clinic staff safe,” says Mufamadi.
“The suspension is difficult for us. Where will our people get the help now? It will be expensive for our poor people to access healthcare services. Donald Fraser Hospital is very far, and people will have to hire a car to get there after hours. And that usually costs over R500.”
Police are investigating
Mufamadi says that the assailant registered their details with the security when entering the clinic, so the police know their identity.
“Currently, we are looking for the known suspect. As to what happened, we have preliminary information. Any additional information will form part of our investigation and, more importantly, part of the evidence in court,” says police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
Department of Health spokesperson, Neil Shikwambana, has not responded to our request for comment. – Health-e News
