The community of Turflkop in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province have complained about poor healthcare services for years. The clinic used to operate only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
However, Phumzile Cele, who returned from the clinic on Thursday, September 22, 2022, said that she was not aware that the clinic was only operating on Tuesdays currently.
“No one told us that the clinic was now operating only on Tuesdays. I only found out after I asked in the nearby tuck shop, as there was a lock in the gate of the clinic. I was told that the clinic now operates only one day because the nurse is on leave,” she said.
The community is demanding better services, clean, working toilets, and more days when services are available.
Mthandeni Gumede, a resident, said that older people would wait from 8 am, even though the nurses only arrive after 10 am. Often the elderly would often return to their homes without getting any kind of assistance
The residents have blamed the Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal for allowing the clinic to operate as a mobile clinic, even though it is supposed to provide service like a normal clinic.
Nokwanda Masuku said that she had complained about the poor state of the clinic before. Patients are even forced to relieve themselves outside due to the toilets not functioning.
“When it rains we are forced to stand outside in the rain and there are no toilets! Can’t they at least provide us with mobile toilets? said Masuku. She said that many residents had been unaware that the clinic is not open seven days a week. Because it is so often closed, “we are forced to travel to another village of Luganda, if we have an emergency or for treatment. This is very expensive most of us are not working, she said.
fray.news contacted the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health for comment. Departmental spokesperson Mduduzi Ncalane denied that the Turflkop Clinic belongs to his department, and directed us to the Ethekwini Municipality. The municipal spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, hadn’t responded at the time of publication.
