The Inkatha Freedom Party has slammed the silence by the KZN MEC of Health, Dr S’bongiseni Dhlomo on the serious issue of a possible closure of Siloah Lutheran TB Hospital in Dlomodlomo in Nongoma.
“The management of Siloah Hospital is facing the possibility that the facility will be forced to close its doors, citing inadequate funding because the Department of Health has not told them whether it will continue to provide funding as the funding agreement expires next month. The closure of this hospital will affect many people who depend on this hospital to get their medication and the services of medical staff in this rural area. The silence by the KZN MEC of Health convinces us that he does not care about people who will suffer once this hospital closes its doors,” said IFP KZN Provincial Spokesperson on Health, Mrs Ncamisile Nkwanyana MPL.
“We urge the MEC to urgently intervene and ensure that this hospital continues to provide much need services to the people. We are afraid that the hospital might be closed soon if no intervention is made. We cannot afford to have a situation where people in rural areas are deprived of health care services. At this stage the management is busy with the retrenchment plan for about 95 workers. If the hospital closes, it will hit low-income families particularly badly. As the Inkatha Freedom Party we propose that the KZN Department of Health should also consider to apply the similar approach of taking over the Siloah Hospital like it did to McCord Hospital in Durban when the hospital’s foreign funding ended,” concluded Mrs Nkwanyana.
Contact:
Mrs Ncamisile Nkwanyana MPL
IFP Spokesperson on Health
078 302 3991
