The centre for specialist care for mothers and babies at Dora Nginza Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay was shut down on Thursday and patients were evacuated to other hospitals after nurses embarked on a violent, unprotected strike.
The head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dr Mfundo Mabenge, was held hostage and prevented from admitting pregnant women in distress by nurses.
The police had to escort him out of the hospital complex, according to Daily Maverick.
In a video of the violent confrontation Mabenge can be heard crying and pleading for them to help patients.
Doctors, who asked to remain anonymous because they fear retribution from the Department of Health, said they were sickened by the abuse that their pregnant patients had to suffer at the hands of the striking nurses. ‘How can you chase these sick patients away and not admit them?’
‘I haven’t slept since Monday,’ one doctor said as they evacuated themselves and their patients to Livingstone Hospital.
Doctors have warned since July 2021 that there was a major crisis brewing in the obstetrics department because of dire staff shortages.
The maternal mortality rate and neonatal stillbirth rates have been rising.
The waiting period for an elective C-section was 11 days and 8-10 hours for an emergency C-section. The Department of Health ascribed these delays to a 31% increase in the birth rate at the facility from 2016/2017.
Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said the strike was unprotected and the nurses were refusing to engage with senior management.
‘While it is claimed that this action arises out of concern for communities and patients, the current action clearly does not demonstrate concern for the wellbeing of those we have pledged to serve.’