The Public Service Commission (PSC) in Gauteng has noted with concern the media reports on Thursday, 16 April 2020, relating to the overcrowding of patients (breastfeeding mothers/pregnant women) and their treatment at the Mamelodi Hospital in Pretoria, following the lockdown restrictions on social distancing for preventative measure against coronavirus.

The PSC welcomes the MEC for Health in Gauteng, Dr Bandile Masuku's apology on the matter cited during the interview with ENCA on Friday, 17 April 2020, where he attributed the overcrowding and treatment of the women to administrative lapse on the part of the Hospital management because of the lockdown. However, the PSC would like to reiterate the importance of the integrity of public servants to continuously do the right thing even when no one is watching.

The PSC, in its oversight role, visited Mamelodi Hospital several times wherein the issue of overcrowding and inadequate hospital infrastructure featured prominently. With the current lockdown restriction of social distancing, the PSC would have expected that the Department and hospital management would come up with preventative measures to ensure that the patients are not put at risk.

This month, South Africa is commemorating the 1994 breakthrough, which culminated in the Constitution, 1996, which is the supreme law of the country. The Constitution makes provision for access to healthcare which is guaranteed in Chapter 2: Bill of Rights.

In October 2019, the PSC in Gauteng visited the Mamelodi Hospital to promote Constitutional Values and Principles (CVPs). The main objective of the visit was to ensure that the hospital employees internalise the CVPs in the performance of their daily duties. The CVPs encourages public servants to amongst others, treat citizens with dignity and respect as well as to ensure that citizens are provided with quality services at all times.

The hospital management, including health workers, have an obligation to provide safe, competent and ethical care to their patients. The duty of care requires health workers to take reasonable steps to ensure their actions, or inactions, do not cause injury or harm to others. The manner in which the patients (breastfeeding mothers/pregnant women) depicted in a video clip were treated, including the conditions in which they were exposed to, were contrary to the CVPs and the duty of care.

During the promotion of the CVPs, the acting CEO of the Hospital at the time assured the PSC that the hospital management and employees would observe the CVPs at all times. He shared some of the challenges that the Hospital encountered in relation to the delivery of health services, which included amongst others, inadequate hospital infrastructure and overcrowding, which is unfortunately nothing new for the health sector.

He further indicated that despite these challenges, the hospital was doing its utmost to provide quality health care services and is addressing the identified problems. However, the current incident militates against the hospital management’s commitment to the provision of quality health care services.

Having noted the MEC's apology, the PSC still condemns the conduct of the hospital management and employees in the treatment of the mentioned patients in an undignified and inhumane manner.

The PSC is also of the view that the MEC’s statement to the media regarding the disclosure of their sources was unfortunate and misplaced. The citizens should not be discouraged from reporting any maladministration which they observe in the state institutions. To this end, the PSC would like to encourage citizens and public servants to continue to report any unprofessional or unethical conduct without fear as this ensures accountability, public participation and improves governance.

The public servants are expected at all times to abide by the rule of law as outlined in the Constitution and other regulatory frameworks in the execution of their duties. The MEC and the Head of Department should take all the reasonable steps in accordance with the law, to correct the situation at the Mamelodi Hospital.

Issued by GCIS on behalf of Public Service Commission