As South Africa joins the rest of the world in celebrating Christmas Day, the SA Medical Association (SAMA) has lamented the strain on healthcare workers struggling to cope with the workload.
The festive season in South Africa is associated with merry-making, alcohol abuse and increased crime, with hospitals’ emergency units being flooded with patients as a result of vehicle accidents, robberies and domestic violence.
In an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Christmas Day, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, chairperson of SAMA said the under-pressure healthcare workers’ burden increases considerably when they have to deal with intoxicated patients.
He said South Africa still face challenges when it comes to the over-burdening of the healthcare system.
“First of all, we have a shortage of staff in the facilities. What normally happens is that patients, when they come in a trauma or emergency unit, they are not attended on first-come first-serve basis. There is a coding system and with the red code, that person cannot wait – if that person waits, they will die,” said Mzukwa.
There are also yellow codes for patients who are serious but can wait a bit, and the green code for patients who are not very seriously ill.
“The problem is, it becomes very difficult if the patient is intoxicated. They lose their control, they are up and about, they cannot sit down, they are anxious. That takes time, just to attend to one person,” Mzukwa told the news channel.
“That increases the risk of needlestick injuries where, while assisting this person who has been assaulted or involved in a motor vehicle accident, healthcare workers tend to injure themselves, or prick themselves with needles. That exposes them to HIV and other conditions. Those are the issues.”
He added that patients tend to be impatient as well, with everyone demanding to be attended to first.
The situation is worsened by patients’ relatives or friends who at times abuse the healthcare workers in the emergency units, demanding that their patient be attended to.
It’s a very difficult situation. Everybody wants to be seen first regardless of the severity of their condition. Also, the people that are very troublesome are the people escorting their relative or patient to hospital. They are the ones causing lots of problems – shouting at the nursing staff, shouting at the doctors,” he said.
In August, IOL reported that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) in Mpumalanga expressed shock over the outbreak of attacks happening at healthcare facilities in the province.
Denosa Mpumalanga provincial secretary Cyril Mdhluli said healthcare workers often come under attack from thugs and angry family members who come to the premises to seek healthcare.
The alarm was raised by Denosa following an incident where healthcare workers at KwaMhlanga Hospital in Mpumalanga were attacked on a Sunday night by relatives who had brought in a patient with a gunshot wound.
Mdhluli said in another incident, healthcare workers at Themba Hospital were also attacked at their workplace on August 9.
“These attacks in the province have become a pandemic and workers are fearing for their lives, which will result in workers not being able to render services towards the communities,” said Mdhluli.
“The worrying factor is that these acts are only happening in public health institutions, which clearly indicates that the problem is within our community members, and further with the security system that is currently used.”