TIYANI – “The Provincial Department of Health and Social Development might be having adequate resources to render services to the sick or injured persons even in the deep rural areas, but its failure to implement strategic plans to channel services effectively seems to be creating unnecessary deaths at Tiyani and the surrounding villages,” said Mr Eric Chauke, secretary of the local Sanco branch.

During a community interactive meeting between villagers, the local health committee and Sanco members held at the Tiyani Tribal Hall last Thursday, community members claimed that, when they are sick or injured, their lives are hanging in the balance as a result of the unavaibility and late arrival of ambulances at the Tiyani Health Centre. According to residents, nurses at the Health Centre are enhancing Vhathu phanda principles, but the problem arises when the nurses transfer patients. The patients are told to organise their own transport.

Residents’ anger arose from two incidents: one when a heavily pregnant woman, who was already in deep labour, arrived at the hospital. The other incident was when a minibus collided with a Putco bus next to the Hlanganani police station. In both cases, the ambulance was late. “We are suffering; we want the department to start rating our lives seriously. Many lives are being lost here,” said one resident during the meeting, which was also attended by traditional leaders of all six villages within Tiyani.

Mr Chauke stated that Makhado, with its medical facilities, is “too far for us. In this settlement, we are still living in that era of women’s giving birth at their kraals because, at the centre, they are transferred to the hospital without having access to transport. We want the centre to take care and save our lives,” he complained.

Mrs Tengisa Anna Maswanganyi said her sick husband would have died if she had failed to pay R100 to a motorist who drove her husband to Elim hospital after his being transferred from the centre. Mr Johannes Ngobeni of Olifantsfontein said that when his rondavel house caught fire in April 2004, his two-month-old baby sustained serious injuries. He claimed to have waited for the ambulance from 21:00 until 01:00. “I watched helplessly as my 16-year-old daughter gave birth to a premature baby last year at the centre in the presence of nurses. Because the nurses had been telling me to drive her to the hospital, as the ambulance was taking too long to arrive, I ended up rushing her to the hospital together with her premature baby. Unfortunately, the baby died the following day,” said Mr Prince Manganyi.

Chief GM Nkanyani also confirmed that, whenever there is an accident at the villages, Mr Chauke always drove the critically injured people to the centre and then to the hospital. Residents said that they were still feeling bad about the incident of a young woman who waited for an ambulance at the centre in deep labour from 20:00 until 03:00 in the morning. When contacted to respond to the villagers’ concerns, Seloba said “People are making unnecessary propaganda. We don't know whether it is because of the local government election fever. People are using this time to reposition themselves for this election. This is outdated politics. Our ambulances are stationed at our substation at Elim, not at Makhado, as claimed by a certain individual.”