Patients at Tshilidzini Hospital who had been waiting for a long time without help told the MEC for Health, Ms Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, that they were happy that she had come because perhaps they would get some help.

Duba, who was in the company of the Cuban ambassador, Mr Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, had made a stopover at Tshilidzini as part of a tour to assess the province’s health care services. The visit took place on Monday.

The MEC and the ambassador were shown the different wards, where they even spent some time with patients and newborn babies. Besides some of the challenges that were highlighted during the visit, the outpatients department painted a very dim picture about the operation of the hospital.

The MEC and the ambassador surprised both the staff and patients when they arrived at the section unannounced. Staff just stood by when angry patients explained their hardships to the MEC. Some told the MEC that they had been there since early morning but had not been attended to.

”There is no service at this hospital. I have been here since early morning and what we see here are staff members who go out for lunch, never to return. Some went out very early but have not returned. Some patients arrive late, but because they are known to staff members, they are helped and they have already left, while we have to wait,” said one angry patient.

Others complained of being told that their files were missing and having to be sent home without treatment. Mr Thomson Ramukhithi of Phundulu in the Ngovhela area told the MEC of the long waiting periods without being attended to.

In her response to patients, the MEC confirmed that there was an acute shortage of doctors in the province and that was the reason why they had invited the Cuban ambassador, so that he could see what challenges the province was facing. “We have heard and seen your challenges and we can assure you that we will deal with these matters, so that you get the best service at this hospital. To show that we are very serious about enhanced service, we will have many new doctors before the end of the year,” she said.

She told them that 10 students had already left for Cuba for training, while another 110 students would leave before the end of the year.

Ambassador De Cossio said the visit was to cement the relationship between the Cuban government and the Limpopo province. "We have taken note of what we have seen. We will continue working with the Limpopo government and, before the end of the year, 94 doctors from Cuba will start to work in South Africa. Some of them will come and serve here in Limpopo," he said.