DA calls on government to fix health services in Eastern Cape

By Mikhaila Crowie
2 October 2008

The Democratic Alliance has received a copy of a report of the task team investigation into the death of many babies in the Eastern Cape.

DA spokesperson on Health, Mike Waters, said these documents paint a grim and depressing picture of the quality of Health Services in the Eastern Cape.

Waters said he will pay a visit to the hospitals to establishing any progress has been made, since identifying the cause of deaths.

“The majority of the children were never weighed or tested for HIV. Children were often given the same treatment, irrespective of their clinical symptoms.”

Waters also continued by saying there was a lack of basic medication.

“Mothers who wanted to stay with their children at hospital during the night had to pay R30 at one of the hospitals and sleep on the floor.”

Waters has called on the government to rectify the situation immediately.