Dr Nomafrench Mbombo holding a mic. Western Cape MEC of Health and Wellness, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo has urged communities to give healthcare workers safe passage amid the taxi violence under way across Cape Town. File Picture: Ayanda Ndamane African News Agency (ANA)
The ongoing taxi violence in Cape Town has now impacted health services, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness said on Friday.
It said several of its health services are operating at a reduced capacity.
On Thursday, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) announced a stay-away until August 10.
This decision comes after a meeting was held at the Desmond Tutu Community Hall in Makhaza, Khayelitsha and was attended by taxi associations from all eight regions.
The stay-away was implemented with immediate effect and commuters across the province were left stranded, many forced to walk home due to no transport.
Chief of Operations for the department, Dr Saadiq Kariem said it is their top priority to to ensure the safety of staff who bear the brunt of violence in their commitment to provide healthcare to citizens.
“We are deeply thankful to them for their continuous dedication. In the same breath, we condemn the attacks on our staff which occurred yesterday (Thursday) – an Emergency Services staff member was assaulted, and the ambulance torched; several staff members were also attacked, including a medical doctor.
“After doing a platform assessment of the overall impact the disruption has had on the safety of transport and our staff, many of our staff have been unable to get to their places of work, which unfortunately will result in limited services being available at health facilities in the metro,” Kariem said.
Health and Wellness MEC, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo has called on communities to allow healthcare workers safe passage.
“If there are no staff, there are no healthcare services. While peaceful protest is a right which needs to be protected, the safety of our staff is paramount to us as a department. I condemn any act of violence that has taken place since the beginning of the minibus taxi strike.
“We urge communities to ensure that our staff are allowed safe passage and protected, as our healthcare services are dependent on them being at work providing quality healthcare to residents. As Minister, I am grateful to our dedicated professionals on the front-line,” Mbombo said.
The following services will be impacted on Friday.
Tygerberg, Red Cross and Groote Schuur hospitals
- elective surgery will be postponed.
- only emergency surgery will be conducted.
- outpatients are advised to only attend their appointments if it is safe to do so.
Community health centres and clinics
- Services at all facilities will be available, but with limited capacity.
(Vanguard CHC was closed Thursday evening, but is operational with limited capacity)
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
- Access to red zone areas will only be possible with a law enforcement escort, resulting in possible delayed response.
Forensic Pathology Services
- Tygerberg and Salt River forensic pathology services are operational, but response to scenes will be delayed in red zones as this will also only occur under the protection of law enforcement escorts.
“The Department’s Major Incident Response protocol was activated yesterday (Thursday) and will continue to receive updates from the Provincial Joint Operations Centre and adjust its service provision appropriately.
“We acknowledge that this will have an impact on our clients, but we assure them that we are doing everything we can to ensure that health services continue,” Kariem said.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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