Denosa concerned about violence against healthcare workers

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) has raised concern over the increasing incidents of violence against healthcare workers in government clinics, even while private security personnel are on duty.

This after a group of men assaulted an intern doctor and held security personnel at gunpoint at Chiawelo Community Health Centre’s emergency unit in Soweto, earlier this week.

Denosa Gauteng Chairperson, Bongani Banda says the incident highlights not only the failure of security companies to fulfill their contractual obligations, but wider systemic problems that put both healthcare workers and security guards at risk.

“As you would have seen our nurses being attacked in several clinics in Ekurhuleni, in Johannesburg, in Tshwane, in Westrand and in Sedibeng. Denosa demands that the department must review all security contracts and must ensure that all security companies comply with the contractual obligations and labour laws, and they must also enforce the labour practices, and they must prioritize the sourcing of security personnel in Gauteng,” says Banda.