Patients awaiting surgery at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley claimed that they have been sleeping on the benches for days on end due to a shortage of beds.
PATIENTS awaiting surgery at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley claimed that they had been sleeping on benches at the facility for several days due to a shortage of beds.
They said that some patients had been waiting for a hospital bed for the past four days.
“It’s as if you have to wait for someone to die before you can get a bed. There is a patient who suffered a stroke and a heart attack and was made to sleep on a bench. Diabetes patients are awaiting amputations and are also sitting on the cold benches,” they said.
Northern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Lulu Mxekezo said on Thursday that there were no patients sleeping on benches awaiting surgery.
“Whenever a patient is admitted there is a bed available for her/him,” said Mxekezo.
