Groot Aub clinic turns away patients

PATIENTS at Groot Aub say they have problems accessing the settlement’s only clinic because nursing staff refuse to attend to non-emergency patients after hours or on weekends.

A rule that stipulates that the clinic only attends to emergency patients after 17h00 has led to some patients being turned away because their illnesses are not regarded as urgent. A 30-year-old patient, who spoke to on condition of anonymity this week, said she almost died of a stroke a few months ago after being turned away because the staff said her headache was not an emergency.

“I went to the clinic complaining of a headache and I had to argue my way past the security guard just to get medical attention. When I finally managed to see the nurse, I was sent away because they told me it is not an emergency,” she said, adding that she was not examined or prescribed medication. She said the nurse on call blamed her for not coming earlier in the day.

“I told them my headache only started at that time and the nurse said they could not assist me because they were not paid overtime,” she said.

She said her headache persisted for one more day before she returned to the same clinic. “This time I could not walk and I had a stroke at the clinic. That is when they realised my condition was serious and called an ambulance,” she said.

Another resident, Riaan Adams, said he brought his 12-year-old daughter who was having an asthma attack last week but said the security guard on duty, Paulus Shiweda, would not allow them inside the clinic because it was not an emergency. He said Shiweda demanded to know whether his daughter’s condition was an emergency or not.

“I told him [Shiweda] that I do not owe him an explanation and that he should stick to his job of guarding the property and stop trying to be a nurse. How can they [nurses] tell that it is not an emergency without examining her?” he said.

“He [Shiweda], acts like he is the one in charge and decides who should see the nurse,” said Adams, adding that it took almost seven minutes of arguing with the guard before they were permitted entry. Adams said this was not the first time he had a confrontation with the guard, saying Shiweda always fights with patients.

Residents say such incidents have brought about frustration and conflict between themselves and the nursing staff who refuse to open the clinic after hours.

The nursing staff has allegedly requested Shiweda, who is employed by VICMAC security services to guard the gate and only permit emergency patients inside.

Shiweda on Friday denied the accusation, saying he only alerts the nurse when there is a patient outside. “I’m a security guard, I do not diagnose patients. The nurses are the ones who decide who should be assisted, not me,” he said.

Some patients questioned if they should bleed first in order to be taken seriously.

“If we are permitted entry, we wait for hours before we get attention. We are frustrated about this,” lamented 50-year-old Anna Rooi who also said the clinic does not have an ambulance and patients have to wait for one from Windhoek, 50 kilometres away.

A nurse on duty, who declined to be named, told The Namibian that community members do not understand that they are understaffed and work under extreme pressure.

“Emergency patients are those with snake bites, bleeding, asthma attacks or women in labour. If you have a cough, it is not an emergency and you can wait until the following day,” said the nurse.

The spokesperson for the health ministry, Ester Paulus, said all clinics officially close at 17h00 and only attend to emergencies thereafter. “If patients have complaints, they should lodge them with the regional health directorates,” she said.

Paulus also said if a nurse at a clinic is unable to attend to a patient after hours, the patients should alternatively go to the nearest health centre or hospital.