DURBAN - HEALTH workers in Durban had a tough time navigating through their daily duties, as a result of unrest that plagued the city and KwaZulu-Natal.
Last week, Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane said civil unrest impacted the department’s day-to-day operations: nurses were unable to go to work or return home, there was skeleton staff on duty, increase in trauma patients, an inability to perform X-rays, inability to transfer patients for a higher level of care, surgeons and medical specialists were unable to attend work and forensic pathology services were unable to collect remains.
An employee, at the emergency services base in Wentworth, said staff could not go out to patients, even though they went to work and took calls normally. The ambulances were there, but nothing could be done.
They needed police escorts to certain areas, as well as to clinics and hospitals. “For the first two or three days, there were many many gunshots … family members were calling saying, ‘my brother is shot,’ ‘my son is shot,’” said the employee.
He said that in extreme emergencies or when police needed them, and if police escorts were available, they could move. But without an escort, they could not.
“Many people were sick, many people had gunshot wounds, lying on the road, some people were assaulted, some people were trampled but we couldn’t get to them because of the area, or the area where there was looting, that’s where they wanted the ambulance. So ambulances couldn’t get to those places,” he said.
People were crying out for help, but there was none. There was no access for ambulances, as roads were strewn with debris, including broken glass.
Some ambulances were stoned, windows smashed while transporting patients, and an ambulance was set alight in the Midlands area.
A nurse, working in a public hospital, said there were many patients with gunshot wounds. Beds were full of alleged looters, who were injured in the upheaval.
“These are young boys, not older men, just young boys,” said the nurse.
She said some looted the SA National Blood Services branches and were now being transfused with blood from the same organisation.
“We’ve been dealing with patients needing craniotomy surgery. Since the announcement of level 4 of the lockdown, there were no craniotomy cases, but as soon as they started looting, there were cases,” said the nurse.
She said if there was a surge of Covid-19 hospital admissions, there might not be space for these patients.
“There was a shortage of linen, with some patients having to reuse their linen because the vans that delivered linen were only able to bring a small amount of linen, which was insufficient,” added the nurse.
A nurse, working in the private sector, said that they had experienced a similar shortage with linen and food.
Patients no longer received bread because it had run out, and they were given scones instead.
She added that desperate mothers and patients went to the hospital because they needed essentials.
“Moms came to the hospital and asked for milk and diapers for their babies.
“Some patients came and asked for medication,” said the nurse.
Department head Dr Sandile Tshabalala agreed that ambulances were attacked while transporting patients to their homes or while fetching patients. Other ambulances were burnt. Those who needed to go to hospitals and clinics could not.
“What was really bad was that when people went to clinics, they found that there were insufficient nurses and doctors because they couldn’t make it to work,” said Tshabalala.
Those who died during the unrest were lying on the road for long periods, because forensic pathology service vehicles could not reach those areas.
“Food for patients was affected a bit, and we were worried that oxygen supplies could decline,” said Tshabalala.
Tshabalala said that was a summary of what happened, but that there was more.
Daily News