PATIENTS at this hospital say they are gatvol of their rights being violated.
According to them, they receive very poor service at Wentworth Hospital in Durban and they often have to wait for up to two days to see a doctor.
One 52-year-old patient said whenever he visited the hospital he had to wait the whole day, and sometimes he went home without getting any help.
“I travel in a taxi when I have to fetch my medication.
“The hospital is always full and sometimes I go home without being assisted,” he said.
“I am forced to come back the next day when this happens.
“It is a daily problem for most of the patients here.”
He said most people arrived at the hospital early, at 5am, yet they still had to wait all day.
Another patient (44) said when he asked the nurse in charge why they had to wait so long, he was told there were only two doctors working at the hospital.
“This is not fair,” he said. “We want the KZN Health Department to intervene urgently.”
KZN health spokeswoman Ncumisa Mafunda said: “The shortage of doctors is a global phenomenon not unique to South Africa or this province.
“It is felt more in rural areas, as doctors tend to choose to work in cities or the private sector.
“The government always tries its best to keep this scarce human resource, but it is not always successful,” she said.
Wentworth Hospital was in the process of recruiting new doctors to start next month.
