Community complains about poor service at clinic

‘€œWe have been waiting at the clinic since 7:00am, but the nurse just looks at us without offering to help,’€ said Mrs Emily Matshaneng who was at the clinic to collect antiretrovirals (ARV) and epilepsy medication. ‘€œIt is now 11:30am and we still haven’€™t been helped.’€

Mrs Julia Mthimkhulu said she has also been at the clinic since 07:00 am to collect her ARVs. ‘€œI was told to wait outside without any explanation. It is now 11:50 am and I am still waiting for treatment.’€

A community mobiliser, Lebogang Pitso, said that conditions were very bad at the clinic. ‘€œThe staff are not friendly to patients, especially in the family planning section,’€ said Pitso. ‘€œThe attitudes make people not want to come to the clinic for STIs (sexually transmitted infections)’€.

A nurse at the clinic, who didn’€™t want to be named, said that the clinic is not a nice place to work. According to her, the clinic had to close down in 2009 due to the poor conditions, and only reopened in 2011. ‘€œBut the conditions are still the same,’€ said the nurse.

‘€œWe have only four professional nurses and volunteers to assist, and the doctor comes once a week. We only have one room for VCT (voluntary HIV counselling and testing) and one consultation room – that means that there is no privacy. And we don’€™t have a telephone for emergencies,’€ she said.

‘€œIn terms of treatment, we often have medicine shortage for common diseases like coughing. If we don’€™t have ARVs we take our own cars to collect treatment,’€ said the nurse.

Apparently clinic staff has tried to contact the Provincial Department of Health about the conditions at the clinic but haven’€™t received any response.

* Sydney Makgai is  an OurHealth  Citizen Journalist reporting from the Tshwane district in  Gauteng.

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