Tag: South Africa

Categories : Ethics and Law Obstetrics & GynaecologyTags :

High Court Wrong about Law on Foetuses under 26 Weeks, Concourt Rules

On By ModernMedia
Gavel
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

The Constitutional Court has declined to confirm the constitutional invalidity of sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act. This comes after the Pretoria High Court found that the Act denied parents the right to bury the remains of a foetus less than 26-weeks.

The application was brought by The Voice of the Unborn Baby NPC and the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban against the ministers of Home Affairs and Health.

The applicants argued that the Act was “insensitive, hurtful and disrespectful” as it only allows for a death certificate to be issued in “stillborn” cases when the foetus is more than 26-weeks.

High Court Judge Nomonde Mngqibisa-Thusi agreed and ruled that sections of the Act are unconstitutional on the basis it “deemed a foetus less than 26-weeks to be medical waste that must be incinerated”.

However, the Constitutional Court, in a unanimous judgment, said the judge was wrong. Acting Judge Pula Tlaletsi said the applicants had submitted that the provisions of the Act had the effect that no burial order could be issued for foetuses lost through miscarriage before the 26-week mark, and that the regulations only made provision for the burial of corpses and human remains, but not foetal remains.

“While it may be true, as the applicants argued, that throughout the years the practice has been to deny parents this right in the apparent belief that this is what the law provides, matters not. The Act contains no such prohibition,” Judge Tlaletsi said.

“The relevant sections cannot be declared inconsistent with the Constitution because of such omission … the Act does not stand in the way of that burial,” he said, noting that the Act only regulated the burial of “dead human bodies or still-born children”.

The Judge said that the court was not in a position to grant the relief.

Read the judgment here

The question as to what medical staff at public hospitals must do if parents expressed the wish to bury or cremate pre-viable foetal remains was not clear, he said.

“Such a burial or cremation would no doubt require the cooperation of healthcare professionals and public hospitals would be expected to allocate the necessary resources.

“Because of the way the case was pleaded, we do not have the necessary evidence to evaluate considerations relating to how hospitals would manage this … There may be other restrictions, for example, limitations imposed by municipal regulations (regarding cemeteries and crematoriums).”

The Catholic Church, arguing that its members held “sincere religious beliefs” that they become parents from the moment of conception, said the burial right should also extend to lost pregnancies “due to human intervention”, including termination of pregnancies.

But two amici in the case — the Women’s Legal Centre Trust and the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition — said this would have a profound impact on the termination of pregnancy services offered to women, and the attached confidentiality.

This burden, they said, would lead to a decrease in facilities offering termination and a diminution of sexual and reproductive rights.

However, the apex court did not comment on this.

By Tania Broughton

Republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Source: GroundUp

Categories : Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags : 1 Comment

Will NHI Mean the End of Medical Aid in South Africa?

On By ModernMedia

Once again, concerns are being raised over the implementation of the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. This time, it is over the future of private healthcare and medical aid under the contentious Section 33 of the Bill.

Many previous discussions have focused on the NHI’s affordability, accountability, the potential mass flight of healthcare professionals from the country, and even whether NHI is even possible to achieve given South Africa’s challenges.

In a new healthcare stakeholder opinion report [PDF] published by Section 27 and the Concentric Alliance on Monday, 20 June, it is noted that private healthcare is a major contributor to the economy. May public and private sector respondents believe it could play a significant role in achieving health reform thanks to its resources and capacity.

However, Section 33 of the NHI Bill states that medical schemes may only provide “cover that constitutes complementary or top-up cover and that does not overlap with the personal health care service benefits purchased by the National Health Insurance Fund on behalf of users”.

This basically means medical schemes which are not gap cover will no longer operate – something which does not sit well with the private sector respondents in the report, who argue that even in countries with the best developed public health systems, private healthcare funders still exist.

A carrot vs stick approach

An academic respondent suggested incentivising people into switching to a public healthcare funder, rather than removing private healthcare funding. A private sector respondent also suggested the idea of competition with private funders as a means to improve the NHI’s efficiency. Indeed, it may even be necessary the NHI to function well.

The report makes note of Section 33 of the NHI Bill becoming “something of a hill to die on”. The report says that “During the six-a-side engagements between Business Unity and the National Department of Health, urgent discussions on NHI were nearly derailed by demands that Section 33 be re-opened for discussion and one respondent in the NDOH stating that the Bill was now before parliament. This respondent stated that they would rather see this point litigated, than back down. The current approach to this draft provision has the potential to undermine the implementation of the NHI and delay urgent reform to the health system.”

Categories : General InterestTags :

Child Welfare NGO One of Many Defunded by Government

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Chayene Rafaela on Unsplash

Christelike Maatskappy Raad Noord (CMRN), an NGO in Gauteng which focuses on children’s welfare through the use of social workers, has been defunded by the government. This amounts to just over half of its funding, according to marketing manager Anya le Cornu. Other NGOs have also had their funding cut, she said, as heard via the Auditor General’s office.

This comes in the wake of the COVID pandemic as CMNR had to cope with continuing to deliver services amidst lockdowns. If other NGOs are similarly impacted, . Founded in 1936, CMRN aims to eradicate child abuse and neglect, providing a wide range of child protection service from its 16 centres.

The NGO assists a large number of families of children: 6000 beneficiaries received material or skill support in 2020–2021, its Child Protection Awareness campaign reached 14 500 people, 622 children were protected through the legal system, and 900 children received speech or play therapy.

However, these services are obviously under threat from the significant loss of provincial government funding, which at R7 million, accounted for 53% of its income.

In order to cope, CMNR has been forced to restructure, reducing costs wherever possible. Unfortunately, it has having to slash its social workers from 28 to 17 as of 1 July.

Due to the lack of subsidy and other challenges, areas such as statutory work may be impacted.

According to le Cornu, CMRN will try and secure funding through every means possible. “We will maintain and strengthen our relationship with the NG church, our other funding partner,” she says. “We will also continue with our marketing and fundraising initiatives. Professional fees will also be applied where possible. We will also reach out to schools and other institutions where part time social work services are needed and contract these services out to generate an income stream.”

The organisation remains hopeful despite these challenges. “We do wish to have a good relationship with the Department of Social Development and would apply for government funding in specific programs where the objectives of these programs are aligned to our own and the communities we serve,” says le Cornu.

“The CMR North believes that we will survive this crisis and hope to be a beacon of light for other NGOs who might suffer the same fate. It is our passion to continue bringing hope to the vulnerable and we see these events as an opportunity to re-invent our services so that they can have a broader and positive impact in the communities we serve.”

Hopefully, additional funding can be found so that CMRN can continue to provide its services, but if this is part of a wider pattern, people in South Africa who are most in need and depend on these services will suffer the most.

Categories : General Interest HospitalsTags :

Another Fire Breaks Out at Steve Biko Academic Hospital

On By ModernMedia
Source: Pixabay CC0

On Sunday evening, another fire broke out at Steve Biko Academic Hospital – the second in two weeks. The fire damaged linen and prompted an evacuation but fortunately, there were no injuries resulting from the incident, Times Live reported.

Gauteng health department spokesperson Kwara Kekana said the cause of the latest fire was due to till-burning cigarette butts discarded by patients which “touched the ward linen room lights, burning the steel shelves and linen.”

Kekana said the damage was limited to a few items of linin. The fire started at around 6.15pm in a linen closet in a medical ward.

“The fire was quickly extinguished by staff. Patients were temporarily evacuated as a safety precaution because of smoke. By 8.15pm, patients were returned to the ward after the City of Tshwane declared the site safe,” Kekana said.

The previous fire at the hospital broke out at around 1:20am in a temporary storage area for COVID medical waste and as an in-transit corpse area. That fire affected temporary structures outside the hospital casualty area, and forced the evacuation of 18 patients.

This is the latest in a string of fires in Gauteng hospitals, such as the devastating fire at Charlotte Maxeke hospital – something which has caused concern for Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi.

Speaking about the previous fire, she said that, “It looks like every year in the Department of Health we have to deal with fires. I will be getting a report the afternoon from the law enforcement agency, especially on the Charlotte issue.”

The problem of hospital fires is not confined to Gauteng: exactly a week earlier, a blaze broke out at Chatsmed Hospital in Durban.

Source: Times Live

Categories : General Interest Hospitals UncategorizedTags : 1 Comment

Whistle-blowing Paediatrician at Rahima Moosa Suspended

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Christian Bowen on Unsplash

The whistle-blowing paediatrician Dr Tim de Maayer who spoke out about appalling conditions at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital (RMMCH) was suspended yesterday, apparently in a retaliatory move.

In the widely-read open letter appearing on the Daily Maverick, he spoke of the preventable tragedy of babies dying due to lack of resources. This came shortly after a viral video showed pregnant mothers sleeping on the floor.

Presciently, the Daily Maverick, which broke the story, stated that there were two options: act to change the situation for the better, or “shoot the messenger”. As the newspaper wryly noted as it broke the news on Friday, 10 June, the option of shooting the messenger has been taken.

Although there appeared to be an initial positive response, Dr Maayer gave notice on Thursday evening that he was not able to come into work on Friday as he was being placed on suspension. RMMCH doctors then contacted the Daily Maverick.

His suspension leaves the hospital without its only paediatric gastroenterologist, according to an anxious doctor who got in touch with the Daily Maverick late Thursday night. The news has spread like wildfire across social media, with other doctors quick to come to Dr de Maayer’s defence.

A petition on Change.org to reinstate the paediatrician is being circulated by ordinary citizens and clinicians including Professor Shabir Madhi, who has been vocal in his support of Dr de Maayer.

Guy Richards, critical-care professor at Wits University tweeted that it was a “shocking response”.

The Progressive Health Forum (PHF) called for the suspension of Dr de Maayer to be overturned.

“Dr de Maayer has been suspended on the grounds that he has a voice, a conscience and a professional ethic and being a committed public health clinician. This pattern of victimisation has been repeatedly applied to clinicians who dare call out inadequacies of the administration and negative impact on clinicians and on the lives of patients,” the PHF said in a statement.

Source: Daily Maverick

Categories : HospitalsTags : 1 Comment

SA’s Dwindling Nursing Skills Threaten Primary Healthcare and NHI

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Hush Naidoo on Unsplash

The delivery of the primary healthcare approach and the achievement of any semblance of universal health coverage are moot if South Africa does not rapidly address the critical skills shortages and working conditions of nurses, especially those with specialised skills, including midwives.     

“The pandemic very clearly highlighted the crucial role that nurses play in the frontline of healthcare, and how important they are in ensuring that patients have access to quality health services and disease prevention, management and education. However, a combination of factors is stymieing attempts to grow our nursing capabilities and skills – from changes in the nurse training curriculum, limitations of and delays in the accreditation of training facilities, poor working conditions and workplace safety, lack of equipment and resources, low remuneration by global standards, the regulatory uncertainty around NHI, changing social dynamics which has seen declining nursing recruits, as well as the significant mental health deterioration that nurses have battled for two years of being on the frontline of the pandemic. Add to this the fact that we have a significant number of experienced nurses heading for retirement age without the commensurate follow through of new nursing talent coming through, and we have the makings of a serious crisis,” warns Paul Cox, Managing Director at the Essential Group of Companies including health insurance provider, EssentialMED.     

“Making matters worse, South Africa’s nurses are in huge demand in many first world countries that suffer the same skills shortages. These countries offer significantly higher pay and better working and living conditions to attract talent to their shores. This is a significant risk as South Africa is losing some of its most experienced nurses and healthcare workers to emigration, and with it we lose vast amounts of institutional knowledge, specialisation, experience, training investment and mentoring and training skills,” he adds.

Data published by the South African Nursing Council (SANC) in 2021 shows that the country has a nursing staff contingent of one nurse to 213 patients – the World Health Organisation recommends a ratio of 1 nurse to 5 patients in a general hospital. While there are currently around 280,000 nurses in active employment and a further 21 000 nurses in training, the 2030 Human Resources for Health Strategy projects a shortage of 34 000 nurses in primary healthcare by 2025 if nothing is done to attract new talent to the nursing sector. According to SANC’s 2020 statistics, the ageing population of South Africa’s nursing population is another looming crisis.  Its statistics show that less than a third of the registered nurses and midwives are under the age of 40, while 47% of registered nurses will have retired within the next 15 years. Primary healthcare will take a big hit given the important role of nurses in primary healthcare delivery, and TB, HIV and diabetes management programmes are likely to falter, with patients in remote and rural areas impacted the most. 

Perplexingly,  despite these serious skills shortages and looming crisis, nurses never made it onto the Critical Skills List released by the Department of Home Affairs at the end of February 2022, despite the huge demands that Government’s drive to NHI will make on already stretched and overburdened healthcare human resources.

“The implications of the current skills shortages and deteriorating working and safety conditions, notably in the public sector which takes care of more than 80% of the population, are plain to see.  We already have a situation where healthcare facilities are struggling to fill posts – there are some 21,000 specialist medical personnel posts vacant across all provinces and which the Department of Health has thus far been unable to fill. What more then will the implications be for healthcare delivery under the proposed universal healthcare system of NHI?  The Department of Health has acknowledged that the NHI will need skilled personnel to function not only across healthcare professionals, but general skilled human resources to underpin the health system. Right now, even the most fundamental of primary care delivery is in crisis due to skills shortages, exacerbated by the deleterious state of many public healthcare facilities and regular medicine stock-outs. More skilled and experienced nursing professionals are heading offshore, and at the same time, the sector is struggling to attract and train new nursing recruits to a profession and working environment that are increasingly unattractive to young South Africans.  The planned introduction of the National Health Insurance scheme adds further grist to the wheel, with industry experts warning of a mass exodus of healthcare skills due to the valid concerns around the lack of financial and operational clarity of the plan,” adds Cox.

The current and future dwindling nurse staffing levels are a serious threat to patient health, safety and quality of care.  Equally so to the health and safety of nurses due to increasing pressure on the remaining workforce to meet ever growing healthcare needs, fatigue and burnout, mental health issues and deteriorating work conditions. Poor resource allocation and poor maintenance of healthcare facilities need to be urgently addressed, and there needs to be the political will to dramatically improve the working conditions of the nurses who form the backbone of healthcare delivery. It is crucial that both public and private sector stakeholders collaborate to help bridge the skills challenges.  A major acceleration of training is needed, and to do this it’s essential to fast-track the new education requirements and processes and accredit more nurse training colleges, allowing the private sector to contribute to closing the skills gap. 

“Nurses are the single largest group of healthcare providers in our country representing 56% of all healthcare providers.  The performance of our healthcare system – both public and private – is dependent on the quality of care provided by these professionals. Nurses are central to addressing the complex burden of disease, achieving the primary healthcare (PHC) approach as purported under universal health coverage, as well as improving health system performance across both the public and private healthcare sectors. The pandemic has shown unequivocally the need to value our nurses, to invest in nursing, resolve the nursing education challenges as a matter of priority, as well as address their working conditions, remuneration, practice environment, resources, management and leadership. Without a strong, skilled and growing nursing profession, any semblance of NHI and universal health coverage success in South Africa is questionable,” concludes Cox. 

Categories : COVIDTags :

End of the Road for Ivermectin as COVID Treatment in South Africa

On By ModernMedia
Stop sign

South Africa’s medicines regulator has officially terminated the special dispensation to use Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID, stating that “there is currently no credible evidence to support a therapeutic role for Ivermectin” in the treatment of the disease.

On Monday 30 May, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) officially withdrew its authorisation [PDF], bringing to end something of a saga which saw vocal proponents pitched against the scientific and regulatory establishment.

The antiparasitic Ivermectin gained considerable notoriety as the COVID pandemic went on, based on preliminary studies that seemed to demonstrate its effectiveness. Pressure born out of desperation for some kind of treatment led to SAHPRA – amidst its own apparent misgivings – granting compassionate use authorisation under strict guidelines in January 2021. Use was allowed under Section 21 guidelines without having to wait for Section 21 authorisation, which was misinterpreted as full authorisation by some media sources.

The social media furore and misinformation surrounding Ivermectin led to dangerous instances of COVID self-treatment, with hospitalisations and even deaths reported.

In its terribly botched response to COVID, Brazil adopted Ivermectin on a mass scale, and essentially became a living laboratory for its effectiveness. Despite even administering Ivermectin as prophylaxis, Brazil’s health system was overwhelmed with COVID patients during the surge caused by the Gamma variant.

Studies turned up scant evidence in favour of Ivermectin’s effectiveness, with serious flaws and even outright data fabrication were picked up in a number of studies that seemed to show a significant benefit – even flying right through the peer review process only to be picked up at a later stage. This lead to a major meta-analysis by Hill et al. showing a effectiveness instead being retracted, which SAHPRA noted in its decision.

Finally, the I-TECH and the Together randomised clinical trials of 2021 showed no effect. Like hydroxychloroquine before it, Ivermectin prescribing was found to be driven by political interests. Thus, Ivermectin quietly disappeared from the media as viable antivirals such as Paxlovid came into the market.

The termination comes after a distinct decline in demand for Ivermectin use in South Africa, with no new applications for importation of unregistered Ivermectin products place since August 2021. SAHPRA also noted a marked decline in the number of health facilities applying for permission to hold bulk stock after August 2021.

Furthermore, no individual named patient applications have been approved since December 2021. Finally, there was little in the way of reporting of outcomes achieved by the treating healthcare providers.

Categories : Ethics and Law General InterestTags :

Good for the Soul: How Helping Others Reignited my Passion for South Africa

On By ModernMedia
Neil Tabatznik, founder of the Tshemba Foundation

In an opinion piece, Neil Tabatznik reflects on how starting the Tshemba Foundation reignited his passion for his native South Africa.

South Africa is not only the most unequal country in the world, it also does not care well enough for its weak and sick. Its inequitable access to healthcare is iniquitous in many parts of the developing world. But to me, a former South African who left the country during one of South Africa’s darkest periods in history, which was rife with government oppression at the time, it reflects the legacy of apartheid.

Having departed for England in 1971, where I practiced law before leaving for Canada, South Africa became a distant and awful memory: I had planned to leave and never come back.

I stayed away for 36 years and cut all ties with the country.

However, seventeen years ago, I returned to South Africa, for personal reasons: my son’s bar mitzvah. With family dispersed across North America, Europe and Australia, South Africa felt like a central place to congregate. It was during the new, post-apartheid period in South Africa that I fell in love with the country all over again.

I started the Tshemba Foundation in Hoedspruit, Mpumalanga, out of complete selfishness initially: It was an excuse to come back to South Africa, while doing good.

At the time, The Tshemba Foundation approached the provincial health department, pitched the concept and offered to bring skilled medical volunteers to the region – and a partnership was born.

The Foundation operates a medical volunteer programme that serves as a model of public-private partnership in the healthcare sector. Initially, I had reached out to colleagues and friends approaching retirement in the UK and Canada, recognising that they had immense skills, time on their hands, and could easily be enticed to come and help while staying at a lodge we had set up on a game reserve in South Africa. The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) proved to be a barrier to this idea, because they refused to register any doctor who had left SA during the Apartheid era (intending never to return) demanding that they pay membership fees accruing during the intervening years. Although this barrier remains, we have still been able to recruit hundreds of volunteers from South Africa and abroad.

Designed to connect skilled professionals from the medical and allied professions with a desire to give back to rural communities in need, we have operated out of the Tintswalo Hospital, a 423-bed public hospital, and surrounding clinics, since 2017.

The Foundation relies on medical volunteers to bridge the gaps in patient care in rural Mpumalanga: Professionals who give up their time and expertise to bring value to underprivileged and underserved communities, while supporting existing staff with training, educational opportunities and fresh perspectives. We assist volunteers with HPCSA registration, to allow them to volunteer in South Africa, but they have to make their own way to Mpumalanga and are provided with free lodging.

Tintswalo Hospital is one of the biggest in the province, serving a rural, underserved population of about 300 000. The hospital has no specialist doctor posts, and if any staff member leaves, from groundsman to senior doctor, it is extremely difficult to replace them due to severe budgetary constraints.

Our “leave of purpose” programme recruits both local and international medics to volunteer their services in these rural areas. They cover a wide range of disciplines, from generalists and dentists to ophthalmologists that perform cataract surgeries and specialist researchers who are spearheading a rural ultrasound project.

Our flagship projects, offered in partnership with the Mpumalanga Department of Health and Tintswalo Hospital, are a state-of-the-art eye clinic and cataract operating theatre, which screens and remedies common, treatable eye diseases, and the Hlokomela Women’s Clinic where pap smears, cryotherapy, and breast, pelvis, abdomen and pregnancy ultrasounds are offered. Women no longer need to travel vast distances to receive screening and treatment: they can get such specialist care at Tintswalo.

Tshemba’s eye clinic volunteers have helped over 700 elderly patients – many of whom were being cared for by grandchildren and other family members, thereby depriving them of access to education and employment.

The programme would not have been possible without the cooperation and enthusiasm of medics, the community, the Mpumalanga Department of Health and international benefactors.

To date, we have attracted about 200 local and global volunteers, mostly from the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, who have devoted the equivalent of over 9,000 healthcare professional days, treated 19,630 patients and held 294 training sessions. These training sessions not only assist local healthcare professionals with continuing professional development and informal clinical teaching, but they also ensure that the Foundation makes a lasting and sustainable impact on the quality of rural healthcare.

Now, the challenge is to make The Tshemba Foundation sustainable. We are registering it as a charity in the UK, Canada and the United States, but we need more support.

We hope to strengthen our relationship with the province to improve healthcare, without flooding hospitals with volunteers. Instead, we would like to build on the power of the clinics by posting medics to smaller healthcare centres.

Our work makes a real difference, not only in the lives of the communities who lack access to healthcare that people in urban centres take for granted, but also in the lives of those who volunteer their services.

Categories : Healthcare Politics and RegulationsTags :

Striking Eastern Cape Paramedics Face Dismissal

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Camilo Jimenez on Unsplash

The Eastern Cape Department of Health has served more than 200 paramedics with letters of intention to dismiss them for embarking on a strike.

Long-standing problems with access to ambulances in parts of the Eastern Cape have worsened over the last three weeks as paramedics have stopped work in Buffalo City Municipality, Amahlathi and Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The paramedics are demanding fully equipped ambulances, with valid licence discs, and cellphones. 

They want electrocardiography (ECG ) monitors, batteries, spine boards, blankets, head blocks, cervical collars, and baby cribs.

The workers are members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (NEHAWU) which maintains that the paramedics are not on strike but are exercising their right to safety at work. The paramedics come to work everyday in full uniform and wait at their work places until their shifts are over.

One of the workers, who has been a paramedic for six years, told GroundUp: “The service we offer to the public is very poor. Our ambulances have no equipment. There are no machines to check diabetes and high blood pressure. Our radios don’t function because we work in deep rural areas where there is a network problem. We use our cellphones to respond to the calls and communicate with our control room.”

“These issues have been raised for many years with the department but it has always been empty promises. If we transport a patient in an ambulance which is not fully equipped the department shifts the blame on us if something wrong happens to the patient. We are not on strike, because we come daily to work.”

“The Department is threatening to fire us but it’s fully aware that it is failing its workers and patients.”

When GroundUp visited Fort Beaufort Provincial Hospital on Tuesday, we found patients being transported in private vehicles.

Thando Ntsume from Hillside dropped a patient in casualty with his private vehicle. “I could see that she was in severe pain and battling to breathe. Her family had been calling for an ambulance since the morning but it never arrived.”

“I know from my own experience that there are no ambulances available in this hospital. Three months ago I was stabbed and admitted to this hospital. Doctors transferred me to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital but they told me I should find my own transport because ambulances are not available. My brother had to take me with his car to East London.”

Patients outside the Fort Beaufort Provincial Hospital casualty department complain about the lack of ambulances. Photo: Mkhuseli Sizani

Mihlali Matshoba says the ambulance crisis has been going on for a long time. “On 7 October I gave birth at home because ambulances are not available here in Fort Beaufort. Sometimes they are hours late or we are told there is only one ambulance operating.”

Nolly Oliphant had to borrow money to put fuel in her car to take her son to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital after he injured his hand.

“I drove with him to Fort Beaufort Provincial Hospital. The doctors treated him and told me that I should take him with my own transport to Cecilia Makiwane Hospital. “I had to borrow R1,200 for fuel because ambulances are not available.”

“The strike has been devastating,” said one of the Fort Beaufort doctors. “We had to ventilate a patient in Fort Beaufort for over 24 hours because of the strike. Eventually we managed to get a private ambulance to come. The hospitals have been using their bakkies to transport patients.”

Regional NEHAWU coordinator Mzamane Mgwantashe says the workers are not on strike. “Over 200 workers are coming everyday to work. But they cannot perform their duties because ambulances are faulty and not fully equipped. In February, ambulances were fully equipped by the Department in order to obtain service compliance certificates. The same day after the assessment was done the equipment was stripped by the Department. We don’t know why that was done and we don’t know where that equipment was taken.”

He said workers had been told cellphones had been bought for them, but they had never received them. “Instead the Department bought ‘push-to-talk’ devices without consulting the workers.”

Mkhululi Ndamase, spokesperson for Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth, confirmed the notices to dismiss over 200 workers who had embarked on an unprotected strike. He said the department had addressed the issues raised by the union.

“All vehicles are licensed annually and a certificate of fitness is issued before a vehicle is put on the road. We are in agreement that if a vehicle does not carry the valid licence and/or the certificate of fitness displayed, it should not be used. There are more than enough vehicles in the pool even while vehicles may be grounded whilst being repaired. The rough terrain of our predominantly rural areas and high volume usage does make them vulnerable to breakdowns.”

He said the vehicles were replaced every 300,000 km.

On the issue of cellphones, he said the department had issued “push-to-talk devices” earlier this year and most paramedics had accepted them. Responding to the complaint about equipment being put in the ambulances just to get licence approval, Ndamase said this was being investigated.

“None of these issues are considered valid reasons to suspend services to the communities we serve.”

The department was using private ambulances to respond to emergency calls, which was costly. Two of these ambulances had been stoned, he said.

Ndamase said a rule of no work no pay would apply.

Written by Mkhuseli Sizani for GroundUp.

Source: GroundUp

This article is reproduced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Categories : COVID Medical IndustryTags :

Closure Threat for SA’s COVID Vaccine Plant as Orders Dry up

On By ModernMedia
Female scientist in laboratory
Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels

South Africa’s COVID vaccine production plant, the first of its kind in Africa is at risk of closure after failing to secure a single according to a report from Reuters. President Cyril Ramaphosa is reported to be in talks with three other African nations in effort to save the venture.

The World Health Organization had called the licensing deal between Johnson & Johnson and Aspen Pharmacare to manufacture the Aspenovax COVID vaccine, a “transformative moment” in the pursuit of equitable access to vaccines. The vaccine is the J&J adenovirus vector vaccine sold under the Aspen brand.

However, after initial vaccine delivery shortfalls, the African continent is now well stocked with vaccines, while the poor infrastructure hampers vaccine distribution.

“There’ve been no orders received for Aspenovax,” Reuters reported, citing a phone conversation with Aspen senior director Stavros Nicolaou.

“If we don’t get orders, we would have to repurpose these lines back into other things that we were previously doing,” he told CapeTalk.

There are several other such vaccine plants in various stages, as the African Union aims at 60% of locally produced vaccines for continent locally by 2040, up from the current 1%.

“If Aspen doesn’t get production, what chance is there for any of the other initiatives?” Nicolaou remarked.

Regarding possible options, he said: “We are exploring various options. It is our medium-to-long-term objective to look at providing a sterile [processing] platform and solutions for the continent but the short-term needs to be sorted out.”

Moderna announced an agreement with Kenya to set up its first mRNA manufacturing facility in Africa with the aim of producing up to 500 million doses a year.

Source: Seeking Alpha