The Eastern Cape Health Department has confirmed it is dealing with an unprotected and unlawful strike currently taking place at Dora Nginza Hospital, following the circulation of disturbing videos showing patients left unattended.
The incident occurred on Thursday 9 April, at the hospital in Gqeberha, where footage captured by a visitor revealed patients lying on the floor and allegedly even a dead body inside a ward. The videos have sparked public outrage and renewed scrutiny of conditions at the facility.
According to Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson Siyanda Manana, the strike is linked to mounting workload pressures faced by healthcare workers. He explained that the situation has been worsened by the closure of the Motherwell Community Health Centre due to security concerns, which has resulted in a surge of patients at Dora Nginza Hospital.
“There is a Motherwell community health centre that is not operational right now because of security reasons. Now you have a volume, a higher volume of work for the nursing staff as well as the clinical staff at Dora Nginza,” he said.
Manana also addressed claims about excessively long working hours, stating: “That is what is alleged, and also the need for them to work from 16 hours to 33 hours, and we are then saying that it’s 16 hours. There must be proof to say that you know everybody has been able to work that 16 hours.”
The hospital has previously faced similar controversy, as it was also the site of viral videos last year showing pregnant women lying on the floor. This raised ongoing concerns about healthcare conditions and staff capacity at the facility.
Authorities say they are working to manage the situation, as the strike continues to disrupt services and place additional strain on already overwhelmed medical staff.
