Committee Refutes Allegations of Confrontations at Khayelitsha District Hospital

The committee, guided by the hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Anwar Kharwa, spoke to various head nurses about the challenges faced in their various departments 

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, April 19, 2018,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Select Committee on Petitions and Executive Undertakings refutes the allegations made by Western Cape Department of Health head, Dr Beth Engelbrecht, in the Cape Argus article dated 17 April 2018.

Dr Engelbrecht perceives the unannounced visit conducted by the committee on Thursday, 12 April 2018, as confrontational and accuses the committee of blaming staff personally and directly for the poor services at the Khayelitsha District Hospital (KDH). The committee would like to state that no staff members were “confronted” as alleged by Dr Engelbrecht. The committee, guided by the hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Anwar Kharwa, spoke to various head nurses about the challenges faced in their various departments. Nurses spoke freely of the serious challenges not only hampering service delivery, but causing a strain on hospital personnel.

Chairperson of the committee, Mr Dumisani Ximbi, said “committees of Parliament are constitutionally mandated to perform oversight over the work of all organs of state, including those at provincial and local government level”. Committees will not waiver from this important responsibility, especially when it relates to complaints of neglect and poor services delivery as received not only from Ms Nobuntu Fuzani, but also from various other stakeholders including the Khayelitsha Development Forum.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.