BusinessLive reports that provincial hospitals and clinics in Mpumalanga are to be protected by armed guards following a spate of robberies at health facilities in the province over the past few months.
The provincial community safety department said on Tuesday that it had resolved to deploy armed guards with immediate effect in all provincial hospitals and community health centres. The latest incident occurred last month in Mapulaneng Hospital where a doctor was nearly shot by thieves conducting a robbery at the doctor’s residence. Spokesperson Joseph Mabuza said a security situational analysis was conducted on safety at health facilities during a meeting between health MEC Gillion Mashego‚ finance MEC Eric Kholwane and community safety and security and liaison MEC Pat Ngomane on Monday. It was not immediately clear whether existing guards at hospitals were certified to carry firearms or whether new guards‚ with the appropriate certification‚ would be brought in.
- Read this report by Naledi Shange at BusinessLive
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