The safety of nurses and patients in Mpumalanga health facilities has again been brought under scrutiny following a robbery at Carolina Hospital on Monday.
It is alleged that a group of heavily armed men forced themselves inside the hospital premises and robbed workers and patients of their belongings before fleeing.
In 2021 a pregnant woman who was a patient at eMbhuleni Hospital was raped inside the premises. In the same year, a member of the community was shot and killed at the gates of Barberton hospital.
Now, the Democratic Alliance in the province is leading a charge calling for accountability.
“Since 2018, there have been several security breaches reported in Mpumalanga hospitals and clinics, where unarmed security guards have been frequently overpowered by armed criminals. This even led to several strikes from healthcare workers,” said Jane Sithole, DA spokesperson on health, on Wednesdays.
In 2019, a mob of people who had converged at a tavern stormed Witbank Hospital demanding that victims of a tavern brawl not receive any medical attention. The victims had sustained gunshot wounds during a fight. Doctors and nurses were allegedly held hostage. Later that week, one of the victims was cornered in the hospital corridors and shot dead.
Sithole added that Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane and MEC for health Sasekani Manzini should urgently put precautionary measures in place to strengthen security in all healthcare centres across the province.
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