GQEBERHA – A father has expressed distress and fear for the life of his unborn child as an ongoing unprotected strike at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha continues to disrupt maternity and surgical services.
Maurico Abrahams says his 40-week pregnant wife has been left waiting in the maternity ward for an urgent Caesarean section but claims theatre services are not operating amid the strike.
“My wife is in the maternity ward. The theatre is apparently closed so no surgery or operations are taking place,” he told the PE Express.
“She has been lying there since Sunday… there are no check-ups in the ward,” he said.
Abrahams said doctors have indicated that emergency cases will be prioritised once operations resume, leaving his wife in limbo as he attempts to secure a transfer.
“My child’s life is at risk… I can’t understand why she can’t be transferred,” he said.
He added that the uncertainty over service resumption is placing both mother and baby under severe stress.
“Are the lives of babies not important?”
Health Department condemns strike action
The Eastern Cape Department of Health has condemned the ongoing unprotected strike at Dora Nginza Hospital and Motherwell Community Health Centre, warning that it is disrupting essential services and compromising patient care.
“Any disruption, particularly one that falls outside the legal framework governing labour relations, potentially affects patients and could compromise access to critical services.”
It added that while staff concerns are acknowledged, proper procedures were not followed before the strike commenced:
“These concerns were legitimate and have been treated with urgency and seriousness. However, the Department is equally clear that there are established, lawful processes through which such matters must be addressed.”
The Department said contingency measures have been implemented to maintain services, including patient diversion, staff redistribution and the deployment of additional resources.
“Multiple engagements were held with staff and their leadership… formal strike ultimatums were issued. A No Work, No Pay principle is being implemented.”
The Department added that cases of intimidation have been opened with SAPS and that an urgent interdict has been initiated to stop unlawful conduct, while matters of alleged professional misconduct have been referred to regulatory bodies.
It urged striking employees to return to work immediately, stating that lawful dispute resolution mechanisms remain available.
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