GroundUp reports that Mabandla Clinic in Kariega was closed for the second day on Tuesday as nurses refused to work after finding human waste at the door and empty alcohol bottles strewn around the yard.

The fencing around the clinic was stolen at the beginning of the year and despite promises, it has not been replaced by the provincial Department of Health (DOH). One of the nurses told patients who had gathered at the entrance: “We can’t work in this environment. There are faeces all over the back entrance since yesterday morning. There are empty bottles of alcohol in the yard.” The nurses locked the door and asked the patients to take up the issue with the DOH. After the fence was stolen, nurses stopped work at the busy clinic in January, citing security concerns. They returned to work when residents offered to act as guards on a rotational basis. The clinic serves about 500 patients daily. At the time, Eastern Cape DOH spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo indicated that replacing the fence was a top priority. Construction of a wall was started, but has not been completed. Bricks are still lying around the yard, which is used as a thoroughfare by people going from one street to another. There is no gate. Ward 45 Councillor Sabelo Mabuda indicated: “The Department of Health promised to put in a gate, and a construction company was introduced in January. However, the material was not delivered several times and the work has been sporadic. We were promised that the construction of the wall would be completed within four weeks … but it hasn’t (been).”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thamsanqa Mbovane at GroundUp

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