The Limpopo MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, last week strongly condemned incidents of what she claimed were intimidation and harassment of staff members at Musina Hospital.
On Tuesday, 18 February, nurses at Musina hospital threatened to down tools, claiming that they were being threatened by members of the community.
In a media statement, Dr Ramathuba said that a group comprising 35 community members had stormed into the hospital's casualty ward on Saturday, 15 February. She said that the group had started harassing and intimidating the nurses and doctors on duty. The group returned on Sunday and Monday night, repeating the same action.
As a result of the harassment, nurses threatened to down tools. A qualified oncology nurse tendered her 24-hour notice of resignation, stating that she feared for her life.
Dr Ramathuba said that the department was pursuing criminal charges against all those who were involved.
The MEC and the nurses' statements are disputed by some members from the Musina community. The chairperson of the Musina Residents Association, Freedom Boikanyo, expressed his disappointment with the MEC's statement.
"The MEC is giving nurses and doctors, who are public servants, powers to abuse patients. No wonder the Limpopo Department of Health is not doing well. The department needs someone who takes the lives of the community seriously," he said.
Boikanyo said that Musina Hospital was always dirty, and patients could not get any medication after 16:30 as the pharmacy would be closed.
The situation at Musina Hospital allegedly got tense two weeks ago when staff members did not attend promptly to a child who had been injured in an accident. According to Thomas Ndou, the father of the child, they had to wait for three hours before someone attended to the child.
"It is surprising to note that my child was attended to after three hours, yet the child suffered head and leg injuries in the accident," said Ndou. He said that he had then alerted the Musina community structures about the hospital's delays.