The DA in Nelson Mandela Bay recently paid a visit to Malabar Clinic, which has been under enormous pressure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The party’s shadow MEC for health, Jane Cowley, said that since Helenvale Clinic closed more than a year ago due to violent crime in the area, Malabar Clinic had taken a huge knock, as it now has to deal with a double case load with Helenvale residents turning to them for help.
Cowley said that during her visit to the clinic that shares a building with the ward councillor, a consultation was taking place in the passageway, while in another area of the building, consultations were being done in a room that also doubles as an office and a tea room for staff. According to her, the ward councillor’s boardroom has also been used for consultations.
“The staff at the clinic must be commended for their attempts to create space to deal with the volume of patients, but the situation is simply untenable. The venue is clearly insufficient and the clinic clearly understaffed,” Cowley said.
“The current Covid-19 pandemic has made the situation worse, as only five patients are allowed in at a time, meaning that patients are queueing outside at the gate, exposed to the elements. The staff informed us that they had requested permission from the municipality to make use of the adjoining Malabar Community Hall, even if it was just to be used as a waiting area, but said the request was denied,” she added.
Cowley explained that the overflow of patients was as a result of Helenvale Clinic being closed by the Department of Health in October, 2018, after staff there were robbed by gangsters looking for drugs. While some of the staff members were redeployed to Malabar, others have been sent to different clinics.
“What is most disturbing is that during a visit to the Helenvale Clinic site, it was noted that the Helenvale Police Station was less than 200m away.”
Cowley mentioned that she would be writing to the MEC for Health in the Eastern Cape, Sindiswa Gomba, to ask that her department urgently intervene, by providing additional personnel for the clinic and engaging with the municipality to find ways to secure extra space in the building. She emphasised that this was simply a short-term solution and that she would also be requesting the department to re-establish a clinic in Helenvale.
DA provincial leader and PR councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay, Nqaba Bhanga, will also be writing to the metro’s acting city manager, to request that the Malabar Hall be made available to the clinic as a matter of urgency to accommodate patients.
“We need to ensure that the people of the Northern Areas are provided with safe access to quality public healthcare,” Bhanga said.
Malabar Ward Councillor, Sharlene Davids, said that they wanted the Department of Health to convert the whole building into a clinic to ensure sufficient space for all staff and patients.
“It is very crowded inside the clinic and nurses are working on top of each other. My office is there too, but we would like the municipality to move us so that the whole building can become a clinic,” Davids said.
According to her, the clinic used to be open only on Fridays for two hours but since Helenvale Clinic needed help, Malabar Clinic had to extend its hours. Davids said that she has sympathy for the staff at Helenvale Clinic and understands why the facility had to close. “They worked under such traumatic circumstances.
“Imagine having to treat a patient and having your life threatened or men with guns running into the clinic,” she added. Davids emphasised that although the conditions at Malabar Clinic are not ideal and they need more space fast, the staff have been doing a great job, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
NMBM spokesperson, Mamela Ndamase, said that issues of availing space for other spheres of government for whatever service delivery related matter are dealt with through intergovernmental relations.
“The Department of Health must follow such channels. Then the request will be attended with the urgency it deserves. As things stand, the municipality has facilities that have been availed to the Health Department; Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a case in point,” she said.
“The district Health Department has good relations with the municipality and works closely through the Mayoral Committee Member for Public Health, Councillor Pali.”
After numerous attempts, the Eastern Cape Department of Health could not be reached for comment.
