The South African government on Tuesday said, “it condemns the actions of some citizens who have been preventing people from accessing healthcare services at Kalafong Hospital, in Attridgeville, based on the colour of their skin and the language spoken”.
Reports surfaced this week that members of Dudula were camped outside the hospital and were accosting patients wanting to gain access to find out if they were foreign nationals or not.
Access was being denied to ailing dark skin Africans on the suspicion that they were not South Africans
“These actions by a few are infringing on basic human rights. They go against the tenets of our hard fought for democracy,” said a statement issued by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS).
“In South Africa, the right to access basic health services is a basic human right that is guaranteed by the Constitution. South Africa is governed by the rule of law, which makes provision for every person in the country, regardless of their nationality or documentation status to access healthcare.
“The victimisation of patients and hospital employees who are suspected of being foreign nationals should be condemned by all of us.”
The GCIS statement said the Southern African Development Community Agreements, to which South Africa is a party to, allows foreign nationals from member states to receive the same care as all South Africans.
Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, said, “preventing access to healthcare can have dire consequences to patients and have a negative impact on the public health system and to citizens at large.”
Gungubele added: “We understand that the public health system is overburdened because of a myriad of challenges; however, doctors and healthcare workers have an obligation to provide healthcare to those in need.
“The Hippocratic Oath guides the actions of doctors, which includes them not withholding services because of religion, nationality, race, politics, or social standing. Government is hard at work to improve our healthcare system and deal with challenges.”
“South Africa subscribes to its constitutional principles which protect the human rights of all the people leaving in the country.
“South Africans should strive to live in harmony with fellow Africans and be part of building a better South Africa and a better Africa.”
The matter of foreign nationals seeking medical treatment at public hospitals came under sharp focus after Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba berated a Zimbabwe woman for being in a hospital in Bela Bela.
In a video clip that went viral, Dr. Ramathuba complained that undocumented migrants were causing a huge strain on the Limpopo health system.
