WeeklySA_AdminINSENSITIVE: Rural hospital in shambles while department spends thousands on top official’s accommodation costs…
By Yoliswa Sobuwa
The Eastern Cape health department has reportedly spent over R500 000 on hotel accommodation for the CEO of Zithulele Hospital.
Disgruntled workers tell Health-e News that this is a slap in the face as the money could have been spent on hospital equipment, linen, nutritious food for the patients, or even paying for an alternative water source which is the biggest challenge at the hospital.
In a written reply to parliament, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said Zithulele Hospital CEO Nolubabalo Fatyela was accommodated at three different hotels in Mthatha for nearly two years, costing the department over R574 000.
Fatyela, who was appointed in September 2021, stayed at Savoy, Bluetiq and Mayfair hotels from August 2022 to July 2024. The expenditure was authorised by the district director, and paid for from the OR Tambo District’s budget.
Staff who spoke to Health-e News on condition of anonymity say a hospital driver had to neglect his duties to drive Fatyela to and from Mthatha (86.5km away).
Nomsa*, who has been a nurse at the hospital for five years, says it is shocking that the department spent so much money on hotel accommodation when they were struggling to keep patients alive. The 150-bed hospital serves a population of about 130 000 every month.
“There are times when we go for a week without water, and there is no arrangement by the management to provide water at the hospital. Patients would go for a week without taking a bath. During this time nurses have to go to a local river about 2km from the hospital to get water whereas there are staff shortages at the hospital,” says Nomsa.
She says they have to use the water for cooking, washing their uniforms, and for patients.
“This also affects toilets and unfortunately there is no outside toilet that we can use when there is no water. We have to use the blocked toilets,” she says.
Phiko,* another nurse, adds that the admission area does not have blood pressure machines, which then have to be borrowed from the wards.
“Patients would spend the whole week with one hospital outfit because the laundry machines need to be fixed. Patients are fed pap and soup as if they are dogs. They have to bring their own blankets because there is a shortage of linen at the hospital. We are not saying the money could have fixed all the hospital problems but it could have made a huge difference,” he says.
This is not the first time Fatyela finds herself in hot water. It has been reported that the quality of care at the hospital has deteriorated due to the exodus of doctors and nurses who started leaving when Fatyela joined the hospital.
Mxolisi*, a regular patient at the hospital who asked not to be identified, says things are not the same at the hospital as most senior doctors have left.
“It used to be one of the best hospitals and villagers were happy about the services. However, ever since the appointment of the CEO things have changed. I am a regular at the hospital and the food is no longer the same. We used to get nutritious meals with fruit but that is a thing of the past. It also takes time for patients to be helped and nurses are always complaining they are short-staffed. You also have to bring your own pyjamas and blankets from home if you know you will be admitted,” Mxolisi says.
Phiko adds that it was stressful to see their colleagues, especially doctors, leaving. He says the last nail in the coffin was when Dr Nick Fine, a senior doctor, was removed from the hospital by Fatyela in June this year.
“The district manager visited the hospital and she said we should elect committee members who will speak on our behalf. A committee was elected and they took our grievances to the management. We were shocked when we heard that they were suspended,” he says.
Phiko says this led to a protest which was also joined by community members. The hospital had to shut down and the patients were diverted to other hospitals.
“There is nothing good that the CEO has done for this hospital. People are not working because they were suspended and now it’s difficult to attend to all patients. Some return home without being helped,” Phiko says.
UDM’s member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature Mkhululi Mcotsho says the complaints by the workers and Fatyela’s hotel stay were raised at the legislature.
“When Fatyela started at the hospital there was a power struggle between the CEO and superintendent. Some doctors left the hospital for reasons better known by the hospital management,” he says.
The provincial Department of Health convened a meeting in August 2022 and people were afforded an opportunity to present their case in front of the department’s officials. Mcotsho says it was decided that an investigation would be conducted and a report would be presented at the hospital.
“We are still waiting for the report. In the meantime we expect the department to make the workplace conducive for both the community and the workers,” he says. Eastern Cape health spokesperson Mkhululi Ndamase says Fatyela had to be accommodated away from Zithulele Hospital because of threats against her.
“Whenever there are safety concerns against any employee, we always do everything possible to ensure their safety,” Ndamase says.
On the complaints by the workers, Ndamase says the department will conduct an investigation to establish the facts to determine the way forward.
“We welcome every effort to promote good and clean governance,” he says. – Health-e News
Mirror Briefs
5 FAMILY MEMBERS KILLED
South African Police Services (SAPS) have launched a manhunt for killers of five family members in Bityi near Port St Johns, Eastern Cape on Friday night.
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, said a husband and wife were sleeping in a rondavel when two men entered and shot them dead. The men then left the rondavel and began firing shots at another house where other family members were sleeping, resulting in the death of three more people and the injury of two others.
Mawisa added that the two surviving children managed to escape and alert neighbours who informed the police. Eastern Cape police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene, has mobilised all available resources to hunt for the gunmen.
He condemned the act and deployed a team of seasoned detectives to hunt down the attackers.
Last month, 18 people were gunned down at two homesteads in the same street in Ngobozana village in the coastal town of Lusikisiki. Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the massacre. Four of the accused have already appeared in the Lusikisiki Magistrate’s Court where they had declined to apply for bail. They are expected to appear in court again on November 26 this year. – Lehohonolo Lehana
ANOTHER EX-MINISTER DIES.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences following the passing of former Minister of Labour and High Commissioner to Canada, Membathisi Shepherd Mdladlana on Friday.
“President Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the family and friends of Mr Mdladlana who has passed away at the age of 72,” said the Presidency in statement. A teacher by profession and a former school principal, Mdladlana became a member of South Africa’s first democratic Parliament in 1994.
Four years later, he was appointed Minister of Labour by President Nelson Mandela and was retained in this role by Presidents Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma. The Presidency noted that Mdladlana’s predecessor was former Minister and Reserve Bank Governor Dr Tito Mboweni who passed away a week ago.
“Membathisi Mdladlana’s passing is a loss to his family and friends as much as it is to the nation.
While we may try to prepare ourselves for the inevitability of such a loss, bereavement is never easy. We have recently been visited by a succession of departures of veterans of our liberation struggle and pioneers of the dawn of our democracy,” said President Ramaphosa. – SA News
DRIP STORES FACE CLOSURE
The High Court in Johannesburg has ordered Drip Footwear to be liquidated as the company has failed to pay R20 million for advertising services.
The liquidation order has resulted in its employees being laid off this week and its 14 stores set to be shut in the coming months.
Founder, Lekau Sehoana, has been in the industry for 16 years and launched Drip after numerous startups failed to get off the ground. Drip burst onto the scene in 2019 and grew rapidly, attracting partnerships with celebrities such as Cassper Nyovest.
This all culminated in a glitzy five-year anniversary party in July this year, where Sehoana hosted politicians and celebrities. While celebrating five years of his own company, rumours of Drip’s looming liquidation began to circle as the company vacated its store in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
At the beginning of September, the V&A terminated Drip’s lease as the company failed to pay its rent and filed papers in the Johannesburg High Court demanding it pay R1.1 million.
The company had already liquidated its clothing shop, called Kiddes Republic, in June last year as it was no longer financially viable. – Fullview
WATER USAGE WARNING
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has reiterated a call for continuous action from all citizens to secure the country’s scarce resource through a change of behaviour towards water usage.
The department noted that South Africa was a water-scarce country and that water resources were under immense pressure due to climate change effects. To further worsen the situation, the department said South Africans currently consumed more water per capita at approximately 218 litres per day than the world average of approximately 173 litres per day, while Gauteng was sitting at 266 per capita per day.
“This means we are using more water than the required average and that is unsustainable. The demand-supply relationship for treated water in Gauteng is very tight and the system is vulnerable to disruptions now because there is no reserve supply capacity in the system due to high demand.
‘’The DWS calls on all citizens to contribute to saving water, emphasising that living in a water-scarce region means that we all must use water wisely.’’
The department also called on Gauteng municipalities to implement strict water restrictions and enforce municipal bylaws to those who did not comply to water restrictions. – SA News
