I had to visit this hospital about three times in one week. The first visit we almost waited for hours before being helped. No doctors or nurses were available to help (we had to put up with comments such as “we don’t get enough money to do all this work”).
It is disappointing to know that this is the service we are getting; I know we are poor, but we do need medical assistance. We get poor health care. Why should we be treated as if we’re nothing? Why should we it in cold waiting rooms for hours? If we complain, their attitudes surface. Why is the night-shift doctor sleeping?
How many people are dying because the staff just don’t care. If they are under-staffed get more staff. It makes no sense having a big hospital at all. The suffering poor walk to the hospital late at night, are helped at 03:00 and then have to walk home. Is this type of support and service fair on anyone?
I refuse to be treated like this and put up with such disgusting service, to say the least. Dr Pillay is most probably the only doctor I’m happy with, she wants to help, along with one or two nurses. Despite notices about waiting periods, patients still have to wait. Please tell me if this is fair. We may well be poor, but we do deserve to live.
Tired of poor service,
Atlantis
Monique Johnstone, Principal Communications Officer at the Department of Health, comments: Any negative behaviour from employees is not condoned and the matter should be reported to management, preferably while the patient is still at the facility, as this offers us the opportunity to address their concerns immediately.
We do have various complaints mechanisms in place that clients also have recourse to, which include the procedure at the facility as well as a call centre, which can be reached on
0860 142 142, or send a “please call” to 079 769 1207 or via email to service@westerncape.gov.za
The emergency centre has a total of 32 staff members providing medical care on a 24-hour shift working schedule in the new Emergency Centre. This staff complement includes doctors and locum staff, who have to provide a service to patients who have minimal access to comprehensive primary health care services in the drainage area facilities which are run by the City. The hospital has 13 doctors employed at the facility, and has recently employed another 2 doctors. These new doctors will commence duty in October 2017.
Our night duty staff are entitled to a lunch break, and doctors or nurses who often work tirelessly during the night would take a nap during their break time in order to be rejuvenated to tackle the rest of the evening – should there be no life and limb threatening cases.
They will attend to all the serious cases first. If this is not the case, then it should be reported to management immediately or via our complaints hotline.
Recently Wesfleur had six resuscitation cases in one day, each of which requires more than one doctor at a time to work on. This, ultimately, also puts a strain on waiting times, even though the hospital is not perceived to be full at the time.
What the complainant is highlighting goes against the Department’s values of providing a patient-centred caring service. Any negative behaviour from employees is not condoned and the matter should be reported to management, preferably while the patient is still at the facility as this offers us the opportunity to address their concerns immediately. We do have various complaints mechanisms in place which clients can also use, which include the procedure at the facility as well as a call centre which can be reached on: 0860 142 142 or send a Please call m to 079 769 1207 or via email to service@westerncape.gov.za.Currently the hospital treats 3 500 – 4 000 patients in the Emergency Centre, and 8 000 – 9 000 patients at the Out Patients Department per month. The Maternity Unit handles approximately 1 000 deliveries a month, and the Antenatal clinic provides healthcare to approximately 800 clients a month. The EC has total of 32 staff members providing medical care on a 24-hour shift working schedule in the new Emergency Centre. This staff complement includes doctors and locum staff who have to provide a service to patients who have minimal access to comprehensive primary healthcare services in the drainage area facilities which are run by the City of Cape Town. The hospital has 13 doctors employed at the facility, and has recently employed another 2 doctors. These new doctors will be commencing duty in October 2017. Our night duty staff are entitled to a lunch break, and doctors or nurses who often work tirelessly during the night, would take a nap during their break time in order to be rejuvenated to tackle the rest of the evening – should there be no life and limb-threatening cases. They will attend to all the serious cases first, rest to be of sound mind when treating patients. If this is not the case, then it should be reported to management immediately or via our complaints hotline.Our staff are qualified medical practitioners who apply all of their institutional knowledge and experience to save people’s lives. The statement made about people dying is rather broad and we cannot comment on this as more information would need to be provided in order for the hospital to investigate these allegations.The hospital deals with a large number of serious emergency cases on most days, and these types of cases take preference over non-emergency cases, which mean that patients who are triaged yellow and green would wait until the red and orange cases are treated first. We therefore suggest that patients triaged for minor ailments attend the Outpatients area during the day for quicker assistance, as the emergency centre prioritises life and limb-threatening cases.Recently Wesfleur had 6 resuscitation cases in one day which requires more than one doctor at a time to work on such a case, which ultimately also places strain on waiting times even though the hospital is not perceived to be full. The hospital does not provide a transport service for clients wanting to access the hospital, and they would have to make arrangements for a family member to drop or collect them.
