Debbie Idas says she had the most terrible experience at Ruyterwacht Clinic on Friday 17 February when she and a few others were “blatantly disrespected and left to stand in the sun, while the clinic was empty”.
According to Idas it was hot and windy when she and others made their way to the Ruyterwacht Clinic. Upon arrival some elderly people had no place to sit. She says a young lady needed a wheelchair as she had an injury to her leg, “and her mom had to fetch the wheelchair inside the premises and bring it out to her”.
Three of the older ladies eventually went home as they could no longer stand outside. Idas took pictures of the empty benches inside the clinic grounds where they could have told the “late” comers to wait. It would have been safer as well.
“At 13:30 we were told to come inside. When we got inside the floors were being mopped and the chairs stacked up in the waiting area, no other patients were being attended to,” Idas says.
She says the attending nurse who brought them inside pulled out the triage chart and told them they would not assist everyone.
At that point, they were now only 10 in total. Six were there for the pharmacy and the other four had to see the nurse.
“The nurse was extremely rude. She shouted at one patient in front of all of us.
“He was 77 years old. Blatant disrespect, very, very shocking,” Idas says.
Appointment at clinic
According to Idas she had an appointment for that day for her chronic medication and got to the clinic at 10:00, a little late, but she says people have reasons for coming late, not everyone can get there at 07:00. “What about the people that were there on time? They had to wait even longer,” Idas adds.
Idas explains that even when you do get there early, the administration system is terrible, “whether you have a booking or not, it does not matter. Why were we left outside for such a long time when the clinic was empty, and it was only 13:30?”
Idas says: “And the blatant disrespect of the nurse on duty was truly shocking. People who come to the clinic are from disadvantaged communities, they should be treated with respect and dignity, not like animals. Is that not the pledge she swore to?”
Shimoney Regter, spokesperson for the provincial health department stated that the department acknowledges the concerns shared by Idas and views this matter in a serious light. “We are very disappointed to hear that Ms Idas had a negative experience at our facility,” Regter says.
Looking into the matter
“We are looking into her concerns regarding her visit to Ruyterwacht CDC and the facility manager will contact Ms Idas to address her concerns. The departmental complaints policy prescribes that every complaint should be investigated and resolved within 25 working days. The complaint will be addressed, and all factors will be considered.”
According to Regter Ruyterwacht CDC, like all other primary healthcare facilities in the Northern and Tygerberg District, makes use of a booking system for patients. The booking system works well and allows them to manage the patient load and helps them to reduce the waiting times for patients.
“Therefore, we encourage patients to only arrive at the facility 15 minutes before their appointments. To ensure that all patients receive healthcare, we also accommodate people without appointments (walk-ins),” Regter says.
Patients without an appointment
Patients without an appointment will be triaged on arrival. This means that patients are assessed to ensure that they are seen according to the degree of urgency their condition requires. Patients are triaged green, yellow, orange or red, with red representing being the most urgent cases and green the least urgent.
“We acknowledge that patients triaged yellow and green, who do not require life-saving intervention, can have a much longer waiting time when visiting the CDC, especially when it is very busy on weekdays.
“However, we are committed to providing dignified and compassionate care to all of our residents, especially to all elderly patients and vulnerable groups. Care for senior citizens and vulnerable groups, such as people living with disabilities, will be reviewed and prioritised,” Regter says.
She says they also keep patients informed of waiting times should there be any delays due to high patient admissions to their emergency centre.
If you’re unhappy with the care or treatment you receive call 0860 142 142 and press “1” for support or send an email to service@westerncape.gov.za
