The IFP in the KZN Legislature calls upon the KZN MEC for Health, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, to present a detailed plan on how she intends to address the backlogs in hospitals resulting from the ongoing NEHAWU strike.
We believe that patients who have been booked for operations have been affected by the strike, and have been left to fend for themselves.
It is incumbent upon MEC Simelane-Zulu to tell the public what plans are in place to ensure that people who have missed their bookings will still be able to get the necessary operations. The NEHAWU strike has merely worsened the already deteriorating KZN health system, which is in dire need of an overhaul.
While the IFP recognise the right of workers to strike, we are concerned about the many patients who have been allegedly been denied access to medical care. The right to strike should not infringe upon the right to health.
Further, the IFP is concerned about the atrocious behaviour of some workers who have seem to have lost their Ubuntu, after they blocked an ambulance transporting a critically ill child to Gizenga Mpanza Hospital. Such conduct must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
We urge the police to play an active role and to ensure that those illegally blocking access to medical facilities are arrested.
Lastly, the IFP calls for an urgent amicable solution to the ongoing NEHAWU strike. Government and the unions must go back to the boardroom in order to find common ground, so that people can have access to medical care.
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Contact
Mrs Ncamisile Nkwanyana MPL
IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson for Health
078 302 3991