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Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the Minister of Health, Joe Phala, and the Chairperson of the Portfolio of Health, Kenneth Jacobs, to request that they conduct an urgent oversight inspection to the Roosenekal Clinic to see for themselves what the state of health in Limpopo has been reduced to.

After receiving complaints last Saturday from the residents of the old age home directly across the road from the clinic, the DA went to investigate conditions at the facility.

The ghastly conditions of the Roosenekal Clinic and in particular the attitude of the staff at this facility, left me gobsmacked. 

Roosenekal currently experiences between 5 hours to 3 days of electricity outages at a time.

The clinic does not have a generator and there is no way of keep medicines cold.

Nursing staff use a gas bottle and ring to make their tea. The gas bottle was burning in a room full of medical equipment on our arrival.

Behind the clinic building, a collapsed caravan was packed full of oxygen bottles and piles of filthy linen, which had obviously been there some time.

Linen was even found strewn in other areas around the clinic. Some were bloody and much of it was muddy.

When I attempted to speak to the sister in charge regarding the filthy conditions of the clinic, I was met by complete silence. And when trying to enquire whether there was a generator on the premises and how medicines were being kept cold – the answer was a curt “no”, before the sister turned her back on on me and walked back into the clinic.

The DA was incredibly disheartened by the interaction with the head sister ans it became apparent that she displayed very little care for her job, her workplace and for the patients. It is therefore little wonder that the DA is inundated with complaints about the clinic, its lack of medicines, the toilets (1 x male, 1 x female), and the uncooperative attitude of the staff.

Pensioners from the old age home across the road are often made to wait for hours before being attended to, while other patients who arrive much later, are pushed to the front of the queue.

The DA cannot stand by and watch members of the community be subjected to such poor service delivery from an uncaring ANC government, and watch as they are treated in such unhygienic and unhealthy conditions.

Only one party in South Africa has genuinely proven that life gets better for all where it governs, and that party is the DA.

Issued by DA