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- A Stuijt
- Retired South African medical journalist, ex-Sunday Times of Johannesburg.
Anti-white racism at State hospitals revealed
18:28 | 
Posted by
A Stuijt |
Madibeng Pulse newspaper ‘s editor Dolf Dreyer reveals reports of ‘blatant anti-white racism at two State hospitals used by local residents – Kalefong Hospital in Atteridgeville and Brits District hospital.”
BRITS - “The ANC’s top-level talks about establishing a national health service won’t help white South Africans if they are being forced to contribute tax-funds for a health service where they are being blatantly discriminated against,’ he writes.
The newpaper reported cases which were brought to their attention by white patients where they were denied medical help and medication.In one such incident, a white resident from Scheerpoort was rushed to Kalefong Hospital in Atteridgeville with a burst appendix. She was in excruciating pain after her surgery. Before her discharge, nursing personnel scoffed at her pain and told her to ‘not be such a softy and just take a ‘Panado’ and refused to give her any pain-medication. She was forced to go to a private doctor she could illl afford to get pain-medication – and which was not refunded by her health-insurance.
The patient also complained that black nurses would not let her have more than one visitor at one time – whereas black patients were allowed as many patients as they wanted.
“There should be no discrimination against whites” claims management… but there is…
MadibengPulse obtained comment from a hospital doctor who said ‘there should be no discrimination against whites’. If the patient would provide all the details of the personnel members who did so, ‘it would be investigated’. However just after reporting this incident, Madibeng Pulse also received similar complaints about the Brits District Hospital from two different patients. One person who works at the Brits Mediclinic confirmed that white patients also complained to her that they were being discriminated against at the Brits District Hospital. In two incidents cited, an elderly lady who had cut her pulse cut when she fell onto the road from a bakkie, was rushed to that hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment. However Brits State Hospital officials refused to give the old lady a letter of referral to a private hospital – required during the present civil-servants strike -- even though her artery was cut through and was also seen by a doctor there as it was an medical emergency. Family members who went to hospital to try and get her forms to get her helped elsewhere – were also treated in a racist way: one black worker tried to sell them crutches for some reason and treated them very rudely. Madibeng Pulse also reports that one of their own employee had tried to get help for ‘a horrific stomach pain’. When he phoned the Brits District Hospital he was told to ‘go to Garankuwa Hospital instead. . It took his family a long time to obtain a letter of referral from the State Hospital – required during the civil servants’ strike – so that he could obtain treatment at the private Mediclinic. It also rains complaints from other white residents about Brits District Hospital, with the main complaints centring around ‘extremely rude staff members who would only write letters of referrals for them after the patients threatened to report them to management.”:
We don’t help white people:
A similar complaint was also received from a paramedic about their attempt to obtain emergency treatment for a white woman who had tried to commit suicide with a pills-overdose. The Brits District Hospital at first refused to help her as an emergency – saying ‘she should come back the next day’ even though she was in a serious condition, and then they refused to give them a letter of referral, with the matron telling the relatives that ‘they don’t help white people’. Only after raising a massive row with the health department management did the nursing staff eventually renege and give them a letter of referral for emergency treatment at a private hospital. The paramedic wrote Madibeng Pulse that ‘to this day we don’t know if she survived, and if she was even helped.’
Madibeng Pulse attempted to contact the Brits District Hospital’s head Dr Kasongo. However after repeated attempts during which their phone calls were ended abruptly, they tried to test the situation themselves, and contacted Mrs Rosina Momyela at the admissions department. Madibeng Pulse asked advice from Momyela, telling her that they ‘wanted to bring a white patient to the emergency department”. Her reply was that ‘they are helping everybody who comes to help.’
Madibeng Pulse noted that ‘this does not match the experiences of the patients who experienced anti-white racism there’. http://www.madibengpulse.co.za/?Task=system&CategoryID=31132&HeadingText=News+230910+rassisme#daihatsu
