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Urgent interventions needed at chaotic Malabar Clinic

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Dear MyPE

Urgent and long-lasting interventions by the Eastern Cape Department of Health needs to be made to improve its services to the communities of the Northern Areas of Nelson Mandela Bay.

The Department, in trying to quell rising public outrage over the years-long closure of the Helenvale Clinic, which forced residents to travel to Malabar to seek medical care, recently reopened the clinic to much fanfare.

What they failed to mention, was that the vast majority of staff and resources for the Helenvale Clinic had been absorbed by the Malabar Clinic, and these had now been reallocated to Helenvale.

The move has left the Malabar Clinic severely under-resourced, and has created chaotic conditions, with the clinic now only open once a week, on a Friday.

This is in stark contrast to when the Malabar Clinic was a fully-fledged, fully staffed standalone clinic in 2008.

Today, 15 October 2020, I conducted an oversight inspection at the clinic, alongside DA NMB Public Health Spokesperson, Cllr Leander Kruger, and found the facility in a shocking and unsafe state. (see pictures here, here and here)

Unsecured medical waste and used needles were found dumped in areas readily accessible to the general public, posing a significant health and safety risk.

I will be raising this issue in the next Health Portfolio Committee meeting, and will also be taking this matter up with the MEC for Health, Sindiswa Gomba, to request an urgent intervention to provide proper medical care facilities to the people of the Northern Areas.

The Department’s “reopening”of the Helenvale Clinic has not resolved the problem, the only difference is that it is now the residents of Malabar who have to travel to Helenvale to seek medical care.

What the people of the Northern Areas need is an additional, fully staffed and fully resourced clinic, not a change of address PR exercise.

Regards

Retief Odendaal, MPL
DA Member of the Eastern Cape Health Portfolio Committee

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