Today's Labour News

City Press reports that a bleak picture was painted on Tuesday by Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi when she detailed the vicious attacks that have taken place at 17 public hospitals in Gauteng since January 2021.

Patients have bit nurses, mental health users have grasped and strangulated hospital employees, and a nurse was punched in the left eye. Replying to questions in the Gauteng legislature, Mokgethi said there were 42 attacks (other reports indicate 43) on health staff and most of the attackers were psychiatric patients. In Sebokeng, a cleaner suffered a right-hand soft tissue injury after a patient, who wanted to be discharged, attacked her. "Unfortunately, at the time, there was no security in the ward because they were on strike. A doctor was hit on the left eye in the same hospital. At Steve Biko Academic Hospital, a patient bit a nurse on the left thumb. She was helping with patient restraining when she got bitten," Mokgethi reported. Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital had the highest number of attacks involving 16 staff members. When asked what steps were taken by the department to address these issues, Mokgethi replied that the matters of staff attacks were referred to the labour relations department. She also said: “Cases of staff attacks are referred to quality assurance and security. Plans are in place to build a bigger psychiatric ward and additional security officers have been allocated to the psychiatric unit.” She added that employees were offered counselling.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yoliswa Sobuwa at City Press (subscriber access only)
• Lees ook, 43 gewelddadige aanvalle by hospitale in Gauteng aangemeld, by Maroela Media

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