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The Eastern Cape health department could face scrutiny from the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over possible human rights violations at a clinic near Qonce.
Members of the commission, who conducted an oversight visit to the ageing and cramped Berlin Clinic in Ntabozuko on Tuesday, uncovered conditions that may have compromised patients’ rights to dignity, privacy and access to health care.
Commissioners decided to visit the facility after being advised by the public protector to speak to community members about their experiences there.
Residents had lodged repeated complaints about deteriorating conditions at the facility and a lack of intervention despite years of appeals.
SAHRC advocacy and research officer Nelson Kesa said the visit formed part of the commission’s first-stage monitoring process into possible human rights violations.
The health department would now be required to explain why longstanding problems had not been addressed.
“What we have observed are challenges such as constrained operating spaces, issues of privacy and we also noted that the clinic has an asbestos roof,” Kesa said.
“So now what we are going to do as the South African Human Rights Commission is liaise with the department of health for its comment.”
The clinic’s management told commissioners they had repeatedly requested that the facility’s infrastructure be upgraded.
This included the need for additional consulting rooms, perimeter fencing, an emergency exit, proper storage of medical waste and more space to accommodate patients.
However, their concerns had not been addressed.
The commission found patients were being attended to in cramped conditions where conversations and medical information could easily be overheard by others waiting for treatment.
The clinic’s toilet for the disabled was also being used to store medical waste.
“I would say the conditions negatively affect the right to dignity,” Kesa said.
“There is no designated waiting area. The makeshift waiting area is bordered by toilets which also have a stench.
“Due to constrained operating spaces, it negatively affects the right to dignity.
“We also had an opportunity to engage with the staff present.
“You can tell the situation has apparently been reported countless times. However, to date, there has been no intervention.”
The clinic’s condition was first brought to public attention by Eastern Cape Women’s Association chair Nomonde Phindani, who said previous appeals to premier Oscar Mabuyane and health MEC Ntandokazi Capa had produced promises but no action.
Phindani said she hoped the commission’s intervention would finally compel the authorities to act.
“Calling the SAHRC was our only option because we have tried communicating with the national minister and got no clear response,” she said.
“We are hoping that something will happen after this visit.”
Patients said conditions at the clinic often discouraged them from seeking treatment.
“There is no space. We have to wait next to the toilets because the clinic does not have a waiting room, and even when it is raining, we have to wait outside,” Asanda Mhlengi said.
“Sometimes we are not comfortable voicing our problems because other people hear our information during consultations.
“The same consultation room is also used as a waiting area, and you end up leaving without getting assistance.”
Another patient, Miliswa Mayo, said the facility’s leaking roof made matters worse.
“When it is raining, the clinic has a lot of leaks and it gets hard for the nurses to operate because most beds get soaked with water,” she said.
Mabuyane’s spokesperson, Sonwabo Mbananga, said service delivery complaints received by the premier’s office were referred to the relevant departments for attention.
The Eastern Cape’s acting health spokesperson, Camagwini Mavovana, said the department welcomed the oversight process, adding that many of the infrastructure problems had already been identified through its own assessments.
She said a roof replacement project had entered the procurement stage, while plans for a new waiting area and perimeter fencing had already been developed.
The department had also secured a park home to provide additional consulting space at the clinic and improve patient privacy.
Mavovana said a broader redevelopment of the facility was also being planned, with officials finalising a clinical brief to determine whether the clinic would be expanded or comprehensively rebuilt.
“The Eastern Cape department of health remains committed to providing safe, accessible and quality healthcare services,” she said.
The department would continue to work with the commission and other oversight bodies to ensure planned interventions were implemented while healthcare services continued uninterrupted.
The commission was expected to engage the department before deciding whether further action is required under its investigation process.
“It is important to indicate that many of the infrastructure-related matters raised during the visit were already known to the department through its ongoing provincial Condition Assessment Programme and infrastructure planning processes,” Camagwini said.
“These assessments have informed a series of interventions that are already at various stages of planning, procurement and implementation as part of the department’s broader programme to modernise ageing healthcare infrastructure across the province.
“The clinic is one of several older facilities that require significant infrastructure investment to meet evolving service demands, population growth and the standards prescribed by the Office of Health Standards Compliance and the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance Programme.
“Consequently, the department has not waited for the commission’s visit to begin addressing these matters … in parallel with the roofing project, the department has already developed preliminary concepts for an improved waiting area and perimeter fencing.”
Daily Dispatch
Mpumzi Mshweshwe,Buhle Sirayi
www.dailydispatch.co.za