Attacks on healthcare workers at public institutions a crisis: SAMA
Following this attack, representatives from SAMA initiated a meeting with senior management from the provincial Department of Health on Tuesday.
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says continued attacks on healthcare professionals at public health facilities is a crisis which needs urgent attention. This comes after the most recent attack on a junior doctor at the Pelonomi Hospital in the Free State last week.
Following this attack, representatives from SAMA initiated a meeting with senior management from the provincial Department of Health on Tuesday.
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SAMA Says in this meeting the provincial Department of Health acknowledged that security at the Pelonomi Hospital has been a concern for a number of years and will be addressed as a matter of urgency.
"This is certainly a step in the right direction, one we believe is long overdue," said Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of SAMA.
Coetzee says it was agreed at the meeting that the electronic gates, and the existing CCTV cameras, will be repaired, that a minimum of four security personnel will monitor the live feed of the cameras on a 24-hour basis, and that large floodlights will be installed to improve visibility on the premises.
The department also agreed to install metal security road spikes, and to prevent anyone without a blue clinic card indicating an appointment, or without staff identification, from entering the premises according to SAMA.
"These are all positive interventions which now need to be implemented as quickly as possible, and security must consistently be monitored," said Coetzee.
Apart from these actions, the meeting also determined that all future incidents will be managed through the Venue Operational Centre (VOC). A VOC team lead by the South African Police Service (SAPS) will include representatives from the Community Policing Forum (CPF), hospital security, and University of the Free State security.
In addition, a Pelonomi Hospital Security Committee has been established with SAMA as one of the representatives. This committee will monitor progress around the actions and upgrades agreed to by the department, all of which must be put in place by 1 July.