No masks for nurses, only management, staff claim

Nurses at the Mthatha Private Hospital claim they are forced to attend to sick patients without protective masks.

DispatchLIVE spoke to four nurses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, who said while they were provided with gloves, sanitiser and other necessities, they were not given masks to cover their faces while tending to patients.

They allege that staff at management level have, however, been provided with masks.

“We were told [by management] that the masks are too expensive to buy for everyone,” said one nurse.

“We have to touch patients.

“Most of us are scared because we don’t know who might have the coronavirus.”

A second nurse said though some nurses had previously been given masks, they were  now limited to management. Another nurse said they had been told they would have to pay for masks from their own salaries.

“We are really scared as we don't even have medical aids. What if we fall sick? We have people coughing and some of the  patients in our wards have multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis.”

A fourth nurse said they had to risk their lives while managers had the luxury of working from home, only coming in to check up on things.

“They are also scared of the coronavirus. Some people come here coughing and sneezing. Others have dust on their clothes. When you take off their clothes, that dust comes straight to your nose.”

They said there were about 30 nurses at the hospital.

Mthatha Private Hospital general manager  Adhikar Nagessur dismissed the claims and told DispatchLIVE to read up on regulations regarding the wearing of masks by staff in health care.

“Don’t try to come up with sensationalism.

“There is an article on masks, you should go and read it,” he said.

Health minister Zweli Mkhize earlier this week urged citizens to wear face masks but the World Health Organisation has discouraged this, saying only doctors and nurses should wear them.

Mkhize said: “There is no question that the use of masks is one of the best ways of preventing the spread of infection.

“We recommend them, particularly where people have any cough or any symptoms, or in a situation where physical distancing is difficult.”

Nagessur said there was a shortage of masks throughout the world.

When asked why management wore masks and not nurses, he said because some managers attended  meetings in various places in Mthatha.

He said he would forward DispatchLIVE’s questions to their legal department.

There was no further response at the time of writing on Friday.

Eastern Cape health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo declined to comment on the claims made by the  nurses as the facility is a private hospital, and referred questions to premier Oscar Mabuyane’s spokesperson, Mvusiwekhaya Sicetshwa.

He had not responded to questions at the time of writing on Friday.

Earlier this week, patients at a day hospital in East London had to wait for hours before being attended to.

The delay was caused by a shortage of protective equipment for medical staff at the hospital in Duncan Village. People were eventually tended to when the gear arrived.

In a statement issued this week, Nehawu said: “While our members are on the front line of fighting the virus, it is imperative that they are given all the necessary personal protective equipment and sanitisers.”

In the public interest, none of our coronavirus news coverage will be placed behind our paywall and will be available free for all to read. If you would like to support our mission of delivering award-winning, independent local news, please consider taking out a subscription by clicking here.