By Thapelo Molefe
The Eastern Cape Department of Health has failed to meet deadlines set by the Public Protector to address systemic failures at Dora Nginza Regional Hospital (DNRH) in Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay, a parliamentary oversight visit revealed on Tuesday.
A statement from the Select Committee on Social Services, released on Wednesday, detailed findings from the visit, which assessed the department’s progress in implementing the Public Protector’s remedial actions.
The investigation, prompted by 2023 media reports of pregnant women sleeping on chairs and floors while awaiting critical caesarean sections, concluded earlier this year that conditions at DNRH constituted maladministration and violated patients’ constitutional rights to healthcare, dignity, and privacy.
“The allegation that the provision of basic healthcare services by the Department at DNRH is not delivered in a progressive and effective manner, as contemplated in the Constitution, is substantiated,” the Public Protector’s report stated.
The committee acknowledged some progress
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