NURSES at the neglected hospital have had enough!
Patients will be left untreated at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban today when nurses, members of Denosa, down tools.
Denosa provincial secretary Mandla Shabangu told Daily Sun yesterday the union had told its members to go to work but not touch anything.
He said members had been working under bad conditions ever since the hospital was hit by a storm last October. Severe damage had caused overcrowding, because many patients had to squat in undamaged wards.
Shabangu said the situation was so bad, surgical patients had to be booked into the TB ward, putting them at risk of being infected with TB.
He said nurses were forced to keep patients at the trauma unit because there were no beds.
“Health officials have been promising to repair the damaged buildings, but nothing has been done. Health MEC Sbongiseni Dhlomo is well aware of these problems. He visited the hospital after the storm and saw the damage, but it is now six months and the problem has still not been fixed,” said Shabangu.
The union told the department if conditions were not improved, its members would report for duty but not touch anything.
“Members will not be on strike, but will start work only once the conditions have been improved.”
He warned the public that if they came to King Edward they might not be helped.
Nehawu members will not take part in Denosa’s action.
Health department spokeswoman Ncumisa Mafunda said repairs would be completed by the end of next month.
