Irate Grabouw residents have threatened further protest action unless the local clinic assumes responsibility for an incident where a woman gave birth in the street.
This follows the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness denying claims that nurses at the health facility instructed the woman in labour to go back home on Monday, citing that the specific stage of labour was "far," and it was not her expected delivery date.
Residents protested on Tuesday accusing the clinic negligence and poor services in general.
The department's Roche Laws confirmed that the patient visited the facility with labour pains.
“Following protocol, the patient was assessed by our health-care workers to determine the stage of labour. As the patient was not in active labour at the time she was seen at the clinic, our healthcare workers explained to her that she will be reassessed in four hours to monitor her stage of labour. The patient then requested that she returns home as she resides close to the facility and said that she will return later. As her stage of labour progressed quicker than expected, the patient returned to the facility, but could not get there in time.
“She gave birth outside the facility with the assistance of our health-care workers. Once our health-care workers established that both mom and baby were stable, they were admitted to the birthing unit for observation. Upon discharge both mother and baby were doing well,” said Laws.
Laws further said the health-care workers were in contact with the woman and were monitoring her progress and post-partum follow-up, as per normal practice.
The clinic previously made headlines over poor service delivery and other grievances.
Residents have also created a social media page “Grabouw Clinic Bad Experiences”.
“We can confirm that community leaders voiced concerns over the incident and management met with the leaders along with clinic committee representatives and an independent third party from the Human Rights Commission. Feedback was given about the incident and a follow up meeting with the community leaders were agreed upon.
“We strive to resolve all matters concerning our patients, all formal complaints lodged are investigated and resolved. We urge all our clients to make use of our complaints system to ensure that all matters are investigated and resolved,” said Laws.
Resident and one of the march leaders, Anthea Mentile, accused the health facility of not being honest.
“The woman did not ask to go home, she was sent back home and about five minutes away from the clinic labour pains got worse. Her dignity was bruised because she gave birth in public and by the time nurses arrived at the scene the child was already born then they rushed the baby to the clinic.
“People made videos that we have since asked them to remove from social media. We then decided to stage a protest action the next day,” said Mentile.
She said a meeting was held with management and the district.
“It's like they are trying to shy away from accountability. We have agreed to meet again next week and because of the lies we will not only bring witnesses but also other complainants to testify about their experiences”.
Cape Times