Covid-19: Now PAIA application reveals KZN health department policy
The KwaZulu-Natal Health Department (DOH) has refused to respond to concerns raised by the Democratic Alliance (DA) regarding its medical volunteer policy that it did not implement to draw in doctors to assist exhausted frontline medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was after the DA announced at the weekend that it had established that, despite ongoing claims that it does not have a medical volunteer policy in place the KZN DOH had in fact had such a document for the past 16 years.
The South African is in possession of a copy of the document, which the DA obtained only after submitting a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application. The document can be accessed here:
DA member of the provincial legislature and spokesperson on health Dr Rishigen Viranna said: “The shock finding comes as medical doctors and nurses in the province, currently not within the system, have been prevented by the DOH from assisting their professional colleagues for a full year during a global health pandemic. This based on the department’s claims of the absence of such a policy.”
He said the DA was “angered and disappointed” by this revelation.
“It beggars belief and makes a complete mockery of MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, her HOD and her entire Department. While our doctors and nurses were crying out for help, colleagues such as myself and others were denied the opportunity to help. This as a simple result of shocking incompetency by the department. The DA regards this as unforgivable,” Viranna said.
“The second wave of Covid-19 brought with it untold suffering and grief. One must wonder how many lives could have been saved, had the MEC and her department been on the ball.
The volunteer policy issue has seen the DOH lurch from one blunder to the next. In April last year, the MEC called for volunteer doctors and nurses to help. This was followed by months of waiting by volunteers, with no word on the matter from the department,” he said.
Viranna said that in January HOD, Dr Sandile Tshabalala, had advised members of KZN’s health portfolio committee that the reason for the delay was due to the deparment not having a Human Resources policy on medical volunteers as it had been dismantled many years ago.
“In a debate soon after, the MEC advised that the DoH had a new policy in place and that volunteer doctors and nurses should now follow the procedures in place. At this point, the DA requested a copy of the new policy. Unfortunately, our requests were met with silence from the DoH, which led to our submitting a Public Access to Information Act (PAIA) application on 23 March,” he said.
The document, which was recently received shows clearly that a policy has been in place since 2005.
“The DA expects the MEC to publicly apologise to KZN’s many frontline workers who were not helped when they needed it most. In addition, we expect her to explain how this massive bungle took place in the first place. There is no time to waste as our province and our country face a possible third wave,” he said.
KZN DOH spokesperson Agiza Hlongwane declined to comment except to note that: “A decision was taken yesterday that we would not accede to this cheap politics by the DA.”
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