Durban — The South African Medical Association (Sama) says many doctors and medical staff fear for their safety and find themselves in a situation of moral distress when it comes to providing care to patients under “these adverse conditions”.
In their recently published report, Sama said there was a lapse in the obligation of the Department of Health with regards to S8(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, which stipulates that the employer is duty-bound to provide and maintain a workplace safe and without risk to the health of employees.
Furthermore, the report revealed that there was an increase in violence against health-care workers mainly in the public sector between 2012-2022.
The Sama’s CEO Dr Vusumuzi Nhlapho said safety guidelines for medical professionals advise on the doctor’s right to refuse care when his or her life is in danger.
“This situation cannot continue unabated and urgent action is needed to ensure the safety of our health-care professionals.
“The association urges the Department of Health to take immediate steps to address this issue,” said Nhlapho. He added that they would like the department to address the issue together with:
- Providing adequate security measures in and around health-care facilities to ensure the safety of staff and patients.
- Providing a high-security presence and strong visibility, CCTV surveillance, metal detectors, exit and entry check systems.
- Developing and implementing policies to address root causes of violence against health-care workers.
- Providing training and support for health-care workers to assist them in identifying and managing situations that may lead to violence.
- Increasing public awareness of the importance of respecting healthcare workers and the critical role they play in the community. Sama believes if health-care workers would exercise their right to refuse to work due to safety and security risk factors, this would result in poor and indigent patients who depend on public health facilities for health care being disadvantaged even further than they currently are.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Sama chairperson Mvuyisi Mzukwa said the violence towards health-care workers had serious implications as some decided to leave the country or province to look for a safer working environment. He added that their findings were that half of the cases that happened in the workplace were not reported.
“Workers who are most likely to be attacked verbally or physically are those who work in emergency units and psychiatric wards. This could be from patients, companions or relatives,” explained Mzukwa.
He added that some incidents could push workers to depression, absenteeism, and even change of careers. Prior to World Nurse’s Day, KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane urged the public to be patient with health-care workers, especially nurses.
“Nurses face a challenge every day to look after sick people who are often in serious pain. Because of how serious their sickness is, sometimes medication takes a while to kick in.
“This might cause relatives to get emotional and feel that the medical staff is not doing enough. Nurses usually face the wrath of companions. Let us be patient with our health-care workers and also learn to take care of ourselves to avoid being sick,” she said.
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