The residents and patients of the Phoenix Community Health Centre, better known as the Unit 10 Clinic, are crying out for help and better services as they accused staff at the 24-hour healthcare facility of neglect and failure to perform their duties.
Some said that arriving at the clinic’s gate at the crack of dawn does not even guarantee that you will be attended to by a healthcare professional or be seen by a doctor that day. Jugdhishkumar Harichand from Shastripark, said that patients are there from as early as 3am, waiting in winding queues “to be addressed by arrogant staff members” with only one doctor available throughout the day.
“I had a heart bypass and have to go to the clinic after every six months for my routine check-up and medication. I had a doctor’s appointment and arrived at the clinic around 3:45am on 14 February and sadly had not been attended to by 1:30pm. There was a lot of chaos throughout the day, with some people that had received higher numbers being seen to by medical staff before those with lower numbers. Nurses on the other hand were on a go slow even though they had a backlog of patients from the previous day. When I queried about this, highlighting the fact that I was there from the early hours of the morning, the nurse told me not to tell her about time because she is still asleep at that time. I waited a little longer and at around 3:30pm, we were told to go home because the doctor had done his hours for the day,” said Harichand.
He said, as a pensioner he is struggling both financially and physically to go back and forth to the clinic and not be attended to. “It is inconsiderate to tell someone on their allotted doctor’s appointment date to come back the following day because the medical staff are on a go-slow. Sometimes we are only seen to three days later, which is unacceptable. We are sick and left to sit in the hot sun waiting for nothing, it is very frustrating to wait the entire day only to be sent home. Many old people go to the clinic for help, some don’t even have breakfast because they are there early every single day and they still don’t get the service. We are tired of being treated like dogs and really hope that something gets done about this clinic,” added Harichand.
Chronic patient, Sandra Naidu said: “I recently went to the clinic for my insulin and was really shocked at how the facility is run. When I arrived, there was load shedding and the generator wasn’t working so patients are forced to make do with the scarce resources provided. It was worrying to see the over 70’s which is a special category left sitting in the scorching sun, unattended, well past 11am. These elderly people were there from the early hours of the morning and are just left there to fend for themselves, with many saying ‘what can we do, this is how the clinic is’. It’s disturbing that patients have accepted the poor service at the clinic as a norm. The nurses have a bad attitude and can go on lunch for nearly two hours which is totally unacceptable especially while there’s a backlog of patients waiting to be served from previous days. Hygiene is of utmost importance in any medical facility so that patients can fight germs and viruses but this is not the case at the Unit 10 Clinic – the toilets are stinking that you can smell them throughout the waiting room area.”
She said: “A few months ago, I asked for antibiotics for the flu and the doctor said ‘they don’t have’ but I found out that most of these medications from the clinic, with the exact same packaging are being sold at a stall outside the Phoenix post office, which begs the question how these people are getting their hands on state medication. I recently emailed the CEO and the PRO and neither one of them responded to my grievances. Hundreds of elderly, frail and physically disabled patients alike wait in long queues at the clinic corridors in the hope of getting medical attention on the same day, but instead are sent home and told to return the following day. Many people’s lives depend on primary health care institutions. What if someone dies during the time they are turned away and told to come back the following day, who will then take accountability. This is injustice to the elderly and vulnerable people who cannot afford medical aid. Members of the community that utilise this clinic must not accept the lack of service delivery as a norm. We demand intervention from the MEC for Health so that the community of Phoenix and surrounding areas can get the service they deserve when they go to this clinic to seek help.”
Ward Councillor Samier Singh said the Phoenix Community Health Centre falls under the provincial and national departments. He said poor service has always been an issues at the clinic and it has been brought to their attention by the residents that attend to this particular facility.
“Whether it be the rude behaviour of the security guards or lack of nurses or doctors resulting in patients having to wait an average of eight to 10 hours before being attended. I have brought these issues many times to our provincial representative that sits on the health portfolio in the KZN legislature. When the DA leadership goes out to do oversight at this clinic, we are always denied access. These issues have been raised to the MEC of Health for interventions. We also plead with residents to lodge official complaints in writing to the PRO but we always find ourselves with no incident reports. When we had a peaceful demonstration outside the clinic, we had a very poor turn out. The only way we can tackle these issues at the clinic is if the residents stand united for change,” said Cllr Singh.
The KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane had previously called for an urgent turnaround plan for the troubled Unit 10 clinic, including the reduction of patient waiting times. The MEC had visited the facility after receiving numerous complaints from members of the public in 2020.
During her visit, the MEC gave an ultimatum to the district management, who oversee the functioning of the Unit 10 clinic to present a turnaround plan. Comment from the Department of Health was not forthcoming at the time of going to print.
