The Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in the Northern Cape has raised concerns over the lack of security at health facilities, following the stabbing of a 23-year-old man at the Galeshewe Day Hospital on Sunday.
DENOSA Northern Cape Chairperson Derek Sak says repeated requests to the provincial Health Department to address safety issues have been ignored.
“We have been pleading with the Department of Health to address the issue of safety and security in the workplace, which has fallen on deaf ears. We have an HOD of Health who doesn’t engage with DENOSA in the province. Our position is very clear, the safety of our members and the public is priority number one,” says Sak.
Galeshewe Day Hospital stabbing suspect to appear before court
The suspect, who allegedly stabbed a patient multiple times, while he was receiving treatment at the Hospital, is expected to appear in court this week.
The stabbed man is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he is receiving medical treatment. Provincial Health Spokesperson Lebogang Majaha says the incident is highly regrettable.
“We are quite worried and concerned as a department, but it also happened at a time when we were busy conducting our risk assessment, just to make sure there is security in most of our facilities, especially the 24-hour facilities. In this case, it is a matter that we are deliberating on as a department, to make sure that whatever mortality that we are going to come up with, all our patients and staff are highly protected in our facilities. It will be something that we do to make sure that we avert such a situation in the future,” says Majaha.
