Cape Town – The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) says its cries for management to provide sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) to health-care workers have fallen on deaf ears, after Covid-19 claimed the life of another nurse in the province.
Anncha Kepkey from Parow, a
professional nurse and assistant manager, nursing, for the Trauma and Emergency Department at Tygerberg Hospital, died in Melomed Hospital in Bellville yesterday after contracting Covid-19.
Her passing comes after that of Petronella “Aunty Nellie” Benjamin, 62. The Eerste River nurse died earlier this month, just before she was due to retire after decades of service as a health-care worker, and a week after the department celebrated International Nurses Day.
Denosa provincial secretary Danver Roman said they had highlighted the failure of management to provide
sufficient PPE to nurses, but their plight was ignored.
He said the organisation demanded that nurses be respected as equal citizens of the health community and the solution to the Covid-19 challenge.
“They rather decided to open a Covid-19 area in Trauma, which is not needed. They kept palliative care patients there because it is what the doctor wanted.
"The area does not comply with proper infection control and architecture guidelines, and pests are out of control.
“Denosa deplores the approach and attitude of the employer for failing to look after its employees and denying that employees were infected at work,” said Roman.
Yesterday, the Western Cape Health Department offered its condolences to Kepkey's family and friends.
Department spokesperson Mark van der Heever said: “We express our sincere condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
"Mrs Kepkey was a well-respected member of the senior nursing team. Her hard work and commitment will always be remembered and missed by her colleagues.”
Yesterday, the province recorded 1 1072 Covid-19 infections and 5 105 recoveries.
An additional 28 Covid-19 deaths have been reported, bringing the total number to 211.