An incident where a critically ill woman who is battling womb cancer and living in constant pain was allegedly denied access at the Vleifontein Clinic on Friday, 12 August, because the clinic did not have electricity at the time, has local residents fuming.
The single mother of two, Ms Norah Manthosi (40), is originally from Zimbabwe but now resides at Makhuvha, near Giyani. She currently works as a live-in domestic worker in Vleifontein, where she also takes care of the small children of her employer, Ms Mulalo Maphavha.
Norah was diagnosed with womb cancer last year and experiences fierce bouts of pain regularly. She has been waiting for surgery ever since. On the day of this incident, she was on duty when Maphavha returned home from work later that afternoon and found Norah curled up on a bed. Norah clearly needed medical attention, so Maphavha asked her neighbour, Ms Azwindini Mukondeleli, to accompany her and Norah to the Vleifontein Clinic, not far from Maphavha's house.
They arrived there at around 17:00, where a female security guard at the clinic's gate told them that she was not allowed to let them in because the clinic was experiencing load shedding. "The security guard told us that she was ordered not to allow patients to enter the clinic premises when the lights were out. We told her that she [Norah] needed urgent help, because she was weak and feeling cold," Maphavha said.
Mulalo, the neighbour, added: "They [security] also instructed us to call an ambulance to transport her to Elim Hospital when we tried to explain that she [Norah] may die if she doesn't receive medical attention. They told us that they would help us when the power came back on at 19:00," she said.
Norah, who was in great pain, had to lie down on the pavement and wait for nearly two hours. Mulalo eventually phoned the PR councillor in Ward 20, Mr Wiseman Ramalwa, who immediately hurried to the clinic to see what was going on. According to Ramalwa, he went into the clinic, called for a nurse, and discovered only one, who did not seem to be on duty as she was with what appeared to be her boyfriend and refused to assist Norah.
A photo of Norah, lying under a blanket on the pavement outside the clinic gate, started to circulate on Facebook, sparking intense emotions that led to a protesting crowd forming outside the clinic.
Norah was eventually rushed to the Elim Hospital at around 19:00, which is about seven kilometres away, while the protesters vehemently demanded that the nurse be removed from the clinic, since she was not performing her duty.
"It was unclear who called the police, but they arrived at around 22:00. The nurse came out with a male person, who we suspect was her boyfriend who was distracting her from assisting the patient. The police escorted the nurse past the protesters," Ramalwa said.
Sergeant Tshifhiwa Radzilani of the Makhado Police Station confirmed the incident. "As the police, we received a complaint about a group of community members who were protesting outside Vleifontein Clinic, demanding that one of the nurses be removed from the premises. The complaint was attended to and the female nurse was able to leave the premises safely," she said.
The next morning, MEC for Health Dr Phophi Ramathuba paid an unannounced visit to the clinic to examine the situation. This was in response to complaints she received from EFF members about the incident. Ramathuba went live on Facebook, apologising to the community. "I have heard all of your complaints and admit that, in this case, we have wronged the community. Even though there was no electricity, it was still early, not quite pitch dark yet. We ought to have helped the patient," she said.