As pressure mounts on Limpopo health MEC Phophi Ramathuba following her controversial comments about foreigners flooding public hospitals, her boss Premier Stanley Mathabatha went to ground, with his office saying he could not respond on the matter.
When asked whether Ramathuba would be held accountable for her conduct that has split people's views, Mathabatha's spokesperson Willy Mosoma said: “Our position as provincial government is that MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba is better placed to engage further on the video clip and its contents.
“It is against the above-mentioned background that Premier Mathabatha will not be available to speak about the video.”
When Sowetan reached out directly to Mathabatha, he asked that we text him questions for response, to which he did no respond.
Ramathuba has been facing backlash after a video of her asking an alleged undocumented patient at Bela Bela Regional Hospital about her nationality went viral on social media. The woman, who is believed to be from Zimbabwe, had gone to the Limpopo facility for an orthopaedic surgery last week.
During her interaction with the patient, Ramathuba proceeded to say the woman should have been treated in her home country because foreigner were burdening SA healthcare. She ordered the hospital to charge the woman.
The SA Medical Association (SAMA) has condemned her behaviour, saying she had the responsibility to comply with ethical conduct expected from a medical practitioner.
SAMA spokesperson Dr Edward Ngwenya said while there is a need for a national dialogue to address the matters highlighted by Ramathuba, discrimination of any kind in the health sector is unacceptable.
“The MEC as a leader in the province is aware of the appropriate channels where such matters ought to be raised. Additionally, the MEC has a duty and responsibility to comply with the ethical conduct befitting a healthcare professional who took an oath which clearly states first. 'do no harm'.”
“The Health Professions Council of SA’s (HPCSA) ethical guidelines and the SAMA Pledge solemnise all doctors to a duty of care, respecting the dignity of the patient and fostering the noble traditions of the medical profession without prejudice which in this instance appear to have been contravened.”
Opposition parties EFF and the DA have called for Ramathuba’s axing.
DA MPL in Limpopo Risham Maharaj said the party intends to file a complaint with the Legislature Ethics Committee and the HPCSA.
An employee at the hospital who was present during Ramathuba’s visit, said the hospital was under immense pressure because of foreigners who come to SA for healthcare services.
“About two months ago our maternity ward had about 40 women who were giving birth, only five of those were locals,” he said.
“The MEC was not wrong, perhaps it was not the correct platform, but the truth is that our resources are stretched far beyond what we can afford and leaves locals and workers at a disadvantage because we find ourselves having to work with limited resources.”
He said during the walkabout, the MEC had found that every second person in the hospital was a foreign national.
Several hospital CEOs in the province told Sowetan their facilities were stretched.
Messina Hospital CEO Ntovhedzeni Ligege said the pressure was exasperated by the fact that when the foreign patients arrive, their conditions had worsened.
Ligege said in a case where a patient does not afford to pay the bill they complete an acknowledgement of debt form and make arrangements to pay the amount over a certain period of time. He said in cases where the individual is not responsive the debt can be proscribed or written off.
“We provide treatment to patients from the SADC region including Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia,” Ligege said, adding that their maternity ward had a capacity of 80 beds, but was operating at 92 patients daily, with majority of women being from other countries.
The hospital is based in Musina, about 5km from the Beitbridge border post.
Dr Sello Lebea, Philadelphia Hospital CEO in Dennilton, said the number of orthopaedic surgeries was escalated by the fact that foreigners get into accidents while travelling into the country. He said such procedures could cost between R50,000 and R200,000. He said admission for one person at a public facility cost about R3,500 a day.
Health director-general Dr Nicholas Crisp said provinces run their own admission protocol for patients.
“Unfortunately health is disjointed and not co-ordinated, which is why we need National Health Insurance (NHI). I’ve been in government for 14 months and from before I joined, I noticed that provinces have different policies which is kind of strange. That’s the whole point of NHI; to have one system that works for everyone,” Crisp said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.