Times Of Swaziland: SOME PATIENTS LEAVE BEDS TO JOIN NURSES’ PROTEST

SOME PATIENTS LEAVE BEDS TO JOIN NURSES’ PROTEST
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Sithembile Hlatshwayo on 30/06/2023 07:34:00


MBABANE – Some patients admitted to the Mbabane Government Hospital dumped
their beds and joined health workers to demand for drugs and medical supplies,
which the health facility had run out of.
The patients are outraged by the fact that they have to buy UV fluids (drips),
injections and needles among other things. Sithembiso Tsabedze, who was admitted
on June 19, 2023, said while they wished to recover soon from their sicknesses
and return to their families, government was allegedly making it impossible.
Tsabedze said he was shocked when he was told to buy gauze, which he paid E1 500
for. He said as patients they were struggling and unemployed, hence they were
failing to cope with the current situation. Tsabedze said most of them were
self-employed and could not raise the funds needed.
“When we see health workers, we see people who are life savers and do not
understand when they tell us there are no drugs.” He urged government to look
into the issue and act accordingly. Sambulo Ndzinisa, who was admitted on May
27, 2023, urged the Ministry of Health to act immediately on their plight as
they were forced to buy everything they needed to help them recover from their
ailments. Ndzinisa said it was unfair that they would be required to pay for the
number of days they had stayed in the hospital yet they had bought their own
medication. He accused the ministry of setting them up against the health
workers, whom they interacted with during their stay in the hospital.
Informed
Handing over the petition, Mbabane Government Hospital Unit Committee
Chairperson Sanele Gwebu said members of the public had been formerly informed
about the status of the facility to protect healthcare workers. Gwebu said they
were disturbed by reports from the minister of health that there was a truck
which delivered drugs and medical supplies this week. “We did not see any
truck delivering at the hospital,” Gwebu stated. He said the last time they
saw a truck delivering drugs and medical supplies at the facility was in
February and they actually saw a van on Tuesday, which had come to deliver a few
things. Gwebu said the situation at the hospital was dire and they needed urgent
help.
He said it pained them as healthcare workers to wake up and report to work every
day knowing that there were no crucial working tools to save lives.
He said asthma patients who required nebulisers were also affected as the
hospital did not have them. “We should be aware that if a person has
difficulty breathing, they were likely to lose their lives,” he said.
Attended
Gwebu said recently, a nurse who attended to an asthmatic patient had to fetch
her own medication to treat the patient. When receiving the petition, the
Principal Secretary (PS) in the ministry, Dr Simon Zwane, said they were aware
of the issues raised. Dr Zwane said as the PS in the Prime Minister’s office
had alluded, government was also aware of the issues of pharmaceutical and
medical supplies, staff shortages as well as the transport shortage. He further
emphasised that government prioritised the concerns.