Daily Maverick reports that over the past two months, two community service doctors in Khayelitsha have been forced off the road, and one was robbed at gunpoint, while an internal medicine registrar narrowly escaped an attempted robbery. All were women.

One doctor was so traumatised she was unable to function and took two weeks off work. According to Dr Crispin Kibamba, the head of Emergency Medicine at Khayelitsha District Hospital, construction work on the nearby Spine Road has increased staff vulnerability. In one incident, attackers smashed a doctor’s windscreen and threatened her with firearms. “They demanded money, which she immediately handed over. Luckily, they did not take her or the car,” said Kibamba. In another case, a community service officer noticed a car with two men following her and drove to a police station, with the suspects close behind. When the police confronted the men, they claimed she had been “stalking” them. A third incident involved a registrar whose vehicle was boxed in by two cars. She managed to find a narrow gap and sped towards the hospital.

Kibamba said the matter had been escalated to senior management, who consulted with the police about establishing a safe travel corridor for staff. “But it’s inconsistent and depends on whether a patrol van is available,” said Kibamba. In the meantime, staff attempt to mitigate the risk by travelling in groups or leaving and arriving in convoys. The impact on patient care is immediate because any time taken off by doctors increases pressure on colleagues who collectively see between 3,000 and 3,500 patients a month.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chris Bateman at Daily Maverick

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