Hospersa called for KwaZulu-Natal's health MEC to be sacked over an apparent shortage of oxygen for the province's ambulances.
|||Durban - The Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union (Hospersa) on Friday called for KwaZulu-Natal's health MEC to be sacked over an apparent shortage of oxygen for the province's ambulances.
Hospersa spokeswoman Michelle Connolly said the union was also calling for Dr Sibongile Zungu to quit.
The call follows claims by the Democratic Alliance's KwaZulu-Natal leader Sizwe Mchunu that the Emergency Medical Rescue Service had not received deliveries of oxygen cylinders for its ambulances for the past two weeks.
The department's spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi admitted that there were “challenges”, but said the DA's claims that ambulance were having to ride without oxygen was a case of “scoring political points rather than speaking facts”.
However, Connolly said the union's members in EMRS told a different story.
“Supplies have been so low for July that, at many Emergency Services bases, only one vehicle has been equipped with the required oxygen.
“Hence there have been teams of paramedics operating in the province without oxygen - a basic requirement for any situation attended to by a paramedic,” she said.
According to her the supplier had been changed from Afrox to Air Liquid.
Each ambulance is required to carry two large oxygen canisters - one that is in use and one as back-up - as well as two portable oxygen cylinders.
“However, Hospersa has been advised by its members that Air Liquid did not have the capacity, or was unprepared, to supply the entire province with oxygen.”
Durban's afternoon newspaper, The Daily News, reported that Air Liquide’s spokeswoman Elana Pienaar had confirmed that the company supplied oxygen to EMRS bases but referred media enquiries to the province's treasury contract management division.
Connolly said the province had “a health leadership devoid of compassion for the people, not to mention devoid of the skills to operate a critical portfolio such as health.” - Sapa