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It’s been over four months since staff and patients stopped using the main structure of KwaNgcolosi clinic near Hillcrest in Durban. Healthcare services have been provided from two small prefabricated structures and three mobile units since early March, when clinic users reported a snake infestation in the main clinic building.
DA Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, Marlaine Nair, conducted an oversight visit to the facility earlier this year. In a letter to the head of the provincial Health Portfolio Committee, she writes:
“Despite vacating the main building, staff are still required to enter it to access essential items, risking their safety. There have been multiple snake encounters, and staff have had to personally arrange for snake catchers, at their own expense. This is unacceptable and poses a serious occupational hazard.”
KwaZulu-Natal health department spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa, previously stated that the provision of health services will continue through the mobile units. But the temporary shelters are also not up to standard.
“These units are too small to fit files, equipment, or even a proper examination area. There’s no airflow. We are worried we can get TB in there,” says a clinic staff member who asked not to be named.
Patients queue in the sun
Patients, many of them elderly or in need of chronic medication, are still forced to queue outdoors, fully exposed to the sun and rain.
“Whether it’s raining or hot, we’re outside. Some people are elderly and sick,” says one patient.
In a recent incident, a snake reportedly fell from a tree onto a group of waiting patients.
Regardless of the danger, patients are still required to enter the original clinic building where snakes were previously seen when collecting medication.
“They told us if we want our medication, we must go inside the main building because that’s where the files and medication are stored,” says another patient.
According to Nair’s letter, the clinic building is in a state of disrepair “with large holes and structural cracks that allow rainwater and snakes to enter”. Videos taken earlier this year show a black mamba crawling into the clinic ceiling. Other sightings include rock monitors and birds nesting inside the roof, which still has large holes and water damage.
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“They came here in March and gave us mobile units that are not fit for use. It’s July now, and there’s been no repair, no upgrade, nothing. We are tired of being treated like we don’t matter,” says a local resident.
Nair calls for urgent action, including the delivery of proper mobile units with windows, the clearing of overgrown vegetation, and a full inspection of the building.
“This isn’t healthcare. We are being treated like animals,” says an elderly patient. “We need a real clinic, not tents and trees.” – Health-e News
