Probe into deaths linked to strike

HEALTH Minister Dr Joe Phaahla would not be drawn into confirming allegations that as many as eight children could have died due to the ongoing strike by healthcare workers affiliated with the National Education, Health, and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu).

Phaahla did an oversight visit yesterday at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, where members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) had been deployed to assist since the hospital is one of the hardest hit by the strike.

There was also high police visibility, including SAPS and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD).

According to unconfirmed reports, about eight children have died since the inception of the wage strike, which enters its eighth day today.

A source who spoke to over the weekend, on condition of anonymity, said there were about 10 people who died at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital since the beginning of the strike.

A two-year-old boy from Katlehong also died at that hospital; according to his death report, he died on March 6.

A Vosloorus resident said she fetched her grandmother at one of Gauteng’s hospitals, who died after she did not receive proper medical attention.

Last week, Phaahla confirmed that four people died due to the strike but said investigations would be conducted to find the cause of the deaths.

He said the Health Department is investigating if the deaths of four people can be linked directly to the strike.

“We are obliged by law that if people die in hospitals, there must be records, especially in a situation where there’s a likelihood of what we call unnatural in the sense that people who otherwise had medical care could have survived. So we have to have those records,” Phaahla said.

He did not guarantee whether he will release the details to the media.

“As to whether we will share the records with you (the media), that’s another question,” he said.

On Sunday, during a media briefing, Nehawu General Secretary Zola Saphetha said the loss of lives was unfortunate.

They need to be given some room, according to Saphetha, so they can exercise their right to wait for the state’s investigation to be finished before responding as a union.

Phaahla said currently, the majority of provinces that are affected are Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.

Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo said they are bringing everyone willing to assist, including interns, EMS personnel, and other nurses from a nearby clinic, J Dumane Clinic, which is a kilometre from Thelle Mogoerane.

The Labour Appeals Court yesterday ordered Nehawu to end the strike with immediate effect.

The Health Department welcomed the court judgment. The union was ordered to announce the interdict to its members by 1pm yesterday.

“We believe this judgment will bring some form of stability. We also believe Nehawu will implement the judgment and inform its members to return to work...” said national Health Department spokesperson Forster Mohale.

Nehawu president Mike Shingange said the union is considering its legal options.