Patients left stranded, as Labour Department shuts down ‘troubled’ Bloemfontein clinic

The department of Employment and Labour has taken a stringent order to shut down operations at the crippled Mmabana clinic in Phahameng, Bloemfontein, with patients left with no nearby health care facility.

The troubled Mmabana clinic was found not compliant to the health regulations, this resulted into the Labour department issuing a prohibition notice which led to the closure of the clinic.

The department said the facility will remain close until all issues of non-compliance have been rectified at the clinic.

Beset by the underlying issues, patients were on Monday morning, left in long queues with the hope that the clinic might opened in bid to be attended to.

Over the past few weeks, fueled with anger, patients took to their frustrations to the nursing staff for their dissatisfaction over poor service at the clinic, as they claimed that they had to wait in the cold with no assistance from the staff.

Attending to this matter with great concern, the department of Labour said it received several complaints over nerve-racking conditions at the clinic.

According to credible source, it is alleged that both the department of Labour and Health are at loggerheads over the closure of the clinic.

The Health department in the province has disputed that the addressed concerns over the clinic are not actual facts.

It is further alleged that, the department attempted to re-open the facility, despite the issued warning from its sister department.

However, the Labour department strongly affirmed that the consequences of re-opening a prohibited facility will be a criminal conduct, and a case will be opened with the police.

“The department sent an inspector (to the clinic) who found that the arrangements were made for patients to be assisted through a mobile clinic. The health officials only went inside the facility to access and retrieve files and medical supplies,” said the department of Labour.