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Trade union Solidarity today rebuked the Department of Health, warning that cases similar to the Life Esidimeni 94 tragedy are looming if the Department does not intervene immediately at a TB hospital in Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal. This comes after the Siloah Lutheran TB Hospital in Vryheid recently issued a retrenchment notice to staff members because it was under tremendous financial pressure due to the non-payment of government subsidies.

According to Solidarity spokesperson Francois Redelinghuys, the hospital, specialising in the care and treatment of TB patients, indicated in the retrenchment notice that around 95 jobs would be affected by the retrenchments. “The alarm bells are ringing when a hospital that plays such an important role in the community is to lose 95 members of staff,” Redelinghuys said.

According to Redelinghuys, the hospital is now running the risk of either not having enough staff to look after its patients, or having no choice but to close its doors. “These retrenchments will obviously not only have far-reaching consequences for the hospital and its patients, but will also severely impact the local community. If patients cannot be hospitalised and treated at the hospital anymore, there is a danger that the TB infection rate could rise even higher, which could lead to a large-scale loss of life,” Redelinghuys said.

“We will obviously do everything in our power to prevent hospital employees from losing their jobs. However, this issue goes beyond mere job losses; the community’s health is at stake. It is of the utmost importance that TB infections and the build-up of resistance to TB drugs, which ultimately pose major risks to the community, do not increase any further,” Redelinghuys explained.

“While government is proclaiming job creation, it is because of its very own negligence that the jobs of 95 people are now in jeopardy. That is why we are admonishing the Department of Health to assist the Siloah Lutheran TB Hospital as a matter of urgency,” Redelinghuys said.

Issued by Solidarity