Hanover Park residents say an ongoing gang war has cost them their hospital.
In the last two years they have seen the Day Hospital reducing its operating hours from 24 hours to just 10 hours, with only the Midwife Obstetrics Unit (MOU) open all day and every day.
Community leader Moulanaa Tohaa Rodrigues says: “These gangsters have deprived us from using the hospital for 24 hours, now it only opens from 7am to 5pm.
“It’s sad to see the elderly people having to travel all the way to Heideveld hospital because our facility is closed.
“Some people have died travelling to the hospital. Sometimes lives can be saved but they have to first wait for the ambulance to arrive which has to wait for the police escort.”
Rodrigues made the comments during a community meeting about the spike in gang violence.
He also said: “The community decided they want to get together and they want to bring forward their grievances about the gang violence and the killing of the innocent.
“We are going to send our memorandum of grievances to the police, Law Enforcement, Community Safety Department and Correctional Services Department.
“The community achieved peace from the gangsters but it was broken by parolees who were not part of that peace-treaty.”
He said the community will work to try to achieve peace again.
“We have given the police enough time to do something.
“Our approach will be different this time to gang leaders, we will bring all relevant parties to achieve peace. People will be taken to task.”
In response, Western Cape Government Health spokesperson Monique Johnstone said, “Due to the escalation in gang violence directly affecting the Hanover Park Community Health Centre and placing staff and patient safety at risk, the operational hours at the Emergency Centre (EC) were reduced in 2018 from 24 hours to 12 hours.
“For the past seven years, the EC has been operating from 7 am to 7 pm weekly and after-hour emergency care is offered at the Heideveld Emergency Centre.”
Johnstone says to ensure the safety of communities accessing services and staff providing care, the Western Cape Government Health and Wellness is in the process of constructing a new healthcare facility for the community of Hanover Park and surrounding areas.
“The new CHC site is 1 km in distance from the current healthcare facility and SAPS Philippi Police Station and is situated in an area where no direct active territorial gang activity has been reported.
“The new facility will offer a 24-hour emergency centre and midwife obstetric unit (MOU). Staff and patient safety will improve compared with the current CHC clinic location due to additional security zones in and around the site or facility.
“Once the new healthcare facility is operational, the current Hanover Park CHC will offer wellness services including health advice, screening and testing, family planning, and immunisation. The old building will also function as a medicine collection point, which makes it convenient for our elderly community members on chronic medication to access,” Johnstone said.
Johnstone added that stakeholder engagements will take place in due course to address questions and provide information about the new healthcare facility.