IFP: Patients in isolation at Addington Hospital are starving

21 July 2020

The IFP has been reliably informed that patients who are in isolation at Addington Hospital are starving.

I have been inundated with calls from concerned patients who informed me this morning that they didn't eat breakfast, while others ate only porridge. When I contacted those responsible in the isolation department at Addington Hospital, they admitted that some patients ate porridge, others did not, due to a shortage of food provided by the catering company. 

One wonders for how long this has been happening, and why not enough food is available for all the patients being treated at the Hospital? 

It is totally outrageous that Hospital management has allowed this to happen.

The IFP calls on the KZN MEC of Health, Nomagugu Simelane Zulu, to institute an urgent investigation into the matter, without further delay. The MEC must inform the public about the plans that are in place to ensure that patients who are in isolation are provided with food every day. We expect the MEC to do the right thing. Swift action must be taken against Addington Hospital management for their negligence in failing to monitor the provision of food to those who are in isolation at their healthcare facility. This kind of ineptitude by Addington Hospital management cannot be tolerated. 

Further, the investigation must explore whether the catering company responsible for providing food at Addington should also be held accountable. Is only the Hospital at fault, or is the catering company also incompetent? If the investigation reveals negligence or poor service on their part, we demand that a new catering company must be appointed. 

The management at Addington Hospital have brought this healthcare facility into disrepute for a long time. Addington Hospital always seems to make the news for the wrong reasons. It is high time for capable, qualified and competent people to take the reins at this Hospital. The IFP, therefore, calls on the KZN MEC of Health, Nomagugu Simelane Zulu, to fire the Addington Hospital management, because they are failing to run the hospital efficiently and provide the level of care that their patients deserve. 

Our community can no longer afford to suffer at the hands of incompetent hospital management. Public hospitals are in dire need of competent leadership. Those who are causing havoc in our healthcare facilities must be weeded out, without fear or favour. 

Issued by Ncamisile Nkwanyana, IFP KZN Health Spokesperson, 21 July 2020