Durban - KZN Health Department paramedics will not be attending to medical emergencies in the Sinathing area near Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, after an attack on two paramedics.
The pair, Bongani Gasa and Claudia Ndlovu, were hijacked and attacked while attending a call in Sinathing just after midnight on Monday.
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) paramedics were said to be traumatised by the attack.
National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) spokesperson Mazwi Ngubane called on the Health Department to intervene before they return to the area.
Two men approached the ambulance, smashed the windows and assaulted the paramedics.
Gasa was stabbed in the hand and badly beaten. Ndlovu managed to run and hide, but was found and severely assaulted. They were robbed of the ambulance keys, a petrol card and their cellphones.
The hijackers did not make their getaway in the ambulance.
After the attack, Ngubane said Nehawu had made the decision to suspend all operations of ambulances in the area.
“No ambulance will be dispatched to Sinathing, regardless of the nature of the call, until the Health Department and police resolve the matter. Our members’ lives cannot be placed in jeopardy.”
The department has condemned the attack. MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, said: “Attacking paramedics is barbaric, compromises the safety of our emergency workers and cripples the essential service they render.”
Meanwhile, protesters on Tuesday burned down a park home-type structure at Mason Clinic, in Pietermaritzburg, valued at about R2 million. It had housed 14 consulting rooms, two waiting areas, ablution facilities and a staff kitchen.
No staff were injured during the incident, the department said.
Commenting on the incident, Dhlomo said: “It must just stop. It is unthinkable anyone in their right mind would destroy a public health facility. I don’t care how legitimate you believe your cause to be, destroying scarce, life-saving government resources cannot be justified.”
The department said the district manager from the uMgungundlovu District had gone to the clinic to assess the damage.
The DA’s spokesperson on Health, Imran Keeka, called the attacks on paramedics “irresponsible” and condemned the protesters, saying their actions would affect service delivery.
Daily News