'Tantamount to attempted murder': Nurse with panga attacks ambulance as public sector strike rages

• Protesting healthcare workers have caused chaos and havoc across the country, even endangering the lives of patients.
• In KwaDukuza, protesters stormed an ambulance and attempted to remove a child in critical condition.
• Nehawu and several other public servant unions have been locked in a wage dispute with the government.

"Violent, unexpected and unbelievable" - that's how a paramedic described the moment healthcare workers belonging to the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) attempted to remove a child on life support from an ambulance in KwaZulu-Natal this week.

The public servant wage strike took a harrowing turn on Wednesday after protesters stormed the ambulance, entering the Justice Gizenga Regional Hospital in KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger) and attempting to remove a child in critical condition.

One of the paramedics who was with the patient in the ambulance told News24 the protest took place right in front of the hospital.

"Upon entering the facility, one of the female nurses started battering our vehicle with a panga,” the paramedic said.

“So, one of our medics stopped the vehicle and asked the nurse to stop. That’s when he was assaulted. After that, they opened the doors of the vehicle and started interfering with the patient, but again, we asked them to stop,” the paramedic said. 

The child was eventually admitted and treated in the hospital.

The paramedic said the nurses also attempted to block them from leaving the facility, but they managed to do so with the assistance of the police. 

The National Health Department described the actions of the protesting public servants as "tantamount to attempted murder".

National Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale told News24:

The department condemns actions by striking members of a trade union which are tantamount to an attempted murder by blocking an ambulance carrying patients.

He said Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla had been in contact with Police Minister Bheki Cele to discuss how the police could help bring stability to health facilities.

Mohale added that while the department respected the right to strike, workers should not violate the constitutional right of others to life and access to healthcare. 

Public servants affiliated with Nehawu went on strike at hospitals and other state facilities this week, despite the government obtaining a court order barring the union's wage strike.

The public service and administration department said that since the union filed an appeal, it gave them a window to continue the protest until the court hearing on Friday.

Nehawu and several other public servant unions have been locked in a wage dispute with the government.

'Blood on their hands'

KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said healthcare workers who blocked staff members and patients from accessing facilities “will have blood on their hands”. 

In a statement on Wednesday, Simelane-Zulu expressed disappointment with the “increasingly crippling illegal strike” and said it “has disrupted the functioning of a number of hospitals, community health centres and clinics in the province”.

“These are people who swore under oath not to hinder people’s access to healthcare, which is an inalienable human right. We, therefore, call upon leaders of organised labour to desist from these actions,” she said. 

Ayanda Zulu, Nehawu KZN secretary, denied that their demonstrations had taken a violent turn.

He told News24:

Anyone making allegations of violence is lying. Those allegations are nonsensical.

 Zulu claimed that provincial health authorities had ignored their requests for a meeting over the wage dispute. He vowed that they would “continue to demonstrate” until their demands were met. 

Zulu maintained that the government was to blame.

“They have failed to give workers what is due to them,” he said. 

But Simelane-Zulu hit back, saying there was no need to meet with Nehawu as wage negotiations fell outside the jurisdiction of provincial authorities. 

“It becomes very difficult to negotiate in our different corners on matters that are on a national level and at the level of the bargaining chamber.

“We expected that the leadership of the unions would understand that the majority of healthcare workers are classified under essential services, and therefore, they cannot be at work. But it becomes even worse when you have health workers who are stopping patients from accessing healthcare services,” she said. 

Eastern Cape turns away patients

In the Eastern Cape, around 1 000 clinics and 92 hospitals turned away patients or discharged them prematurely for safety reasons due to acts of intimidation and violence by protesting healthcare workers. 

The 67-bed Grey Monument Hospital in Qonce was shut down by protesters on Wednesday and could not admit patients for hours, while the 205-bed Bhisho Hospital in the province’s capital discharged patients.

Both facilities are situated in the Buffalo City Metro near East London. 

At another Buffalo City Metro hospital - Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in Mdantsane - police had to be called in to break up a siege by angry protesters. 

The same happened at Mthatha Academic Hospital in the former Transkei, where public order police reportedly clashed with protesters who blockaded the entrance to one of the biggest hospitals in the province. 

Uitenhage Provincial Hospital and Livingstone Hospital, both in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro, were among those severely affected by the actions. 

Operations were also disrupted at St Elizabeth Hospital in Lusikisiki and St Barnabas Hospital in Libode.

The chaos comes as the bulk of the Eastern Cape's 47 000 strong health workforce is on strike.

The facilities, which according to health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda, now operate with a skeleton staff, see more than 1.6 million patients per week.  

At the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, which is also a training facility for medical students, the tyres of a patient's vehicle were slashed during the ongoing chaos.

Patients caring for patients

There is not a single nurse in the eye care ward. While News24 was busy conducting a telephone interview with the patient whose tyres were slashed, a child could be heard in the background crying nonstop. 

“He is a 10-year-old boy who desperately needs an eye operation after he sustained severe head injuries. He cries day and night, and there are no nurses here, so us patients have to look after him,” said the patient. 

The patient said he also needed to have eye surgery, but no one knows when that will happen as protesters had brought operations at the hospital to a standstill. 

“I heard they slashed my car tyres. [My car] was parked in the doctors’ parking area. They must have thought it belonged to a doctor. Before I can leave this hospital, I must first get new tyres. This strike is costly. I don’t know where I must get this money,” the patient said.

Dekeda claimed the hospitals were open, and skeleton staff were working.

But at 18:15 on Wednesday, the patient said the protesters were still outside the hospital to prevent night shift nurses from entering and that no nurses were on duty.  

Dekeda admitted workers were allegedly blocking entrances preventing the staff and patients from entering the premises.

“In such instances, police were called to intervene and deal with these kinds of incidents, protecting members of the public, staff and state infrastructure,” said Dekeda. 

Nehawu Eastern Cape secretary Mlu Ncapayi said it was unfair for Nehawu to be singled out as the strike involved other public service unions. 

He denied acts of violence and intimidation by Nehawu members. 

Ncapayi said:

We dismiss this. We have established our own task team across-the-board all regions to avoid barricading or preventing people from accessing health institutions. Our members understand the health sector is an essential service and shouldn't be disrupted.

 On Saturday, the Department of Public Service and Administration obtained an urgent court interdict by the Labour Court to halt the strike action.

On Monday, the Labour Court in Johannesburg reaffirmed the original interdict, which was granted.

But Nehawu filed appeal papers with the Labour Appeal Court. 

Public service and administration spokesperson Moses Mushi told News24 the hearing of that appeal would be on Friday. 

"Because Nehawu filed appeal papers, it gives them a window to continue with the protest. However, the strike management plan is currently in place," he said. 

Mushi added that all departments had been urged to put the necessary processes, procedures, and contingency strike management plans in place to effectively deal with the strike action.Lack of ethical leadership in the spotlight

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) said in a statement that it respected the rights of public service workers to protest but condemned reports of arson, intimidation and blockages of healthcare facilities.

“SAMA has received reports of these blockages at a number of facilities in several provinces, including Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape; preventing access of its members and the public to the hospital facilities, including access to specialist services. The lack of ethical leadership by Nehawu members actively engaging in the protest is of concern,” it said. 

The association said it believes that protests can be carried out effectively and safely without putting the lives of healthcare professionals and the public at risk. 

“There is no place for intimidation, violence and arson of any kind, at any facility, let alone a healthcare facility. The SAMA affirms that healthcare facilities are not places of protest, instead these are institutions for quality care to the country’s most vulnerable, the patients,” it said.