Seven Eastern Cape hospitals, including the two provincial hospitals in Gqeberha and Kariega, are mentioned in a damning Freedom Front Plus report detailing allegations of human rights abuses, an utter decline in service delivery and infrastructure, "as well as staff incompetence and an indifferent attitude towards the plight and suffering of patients".
The FF Plus on Wednesday said the seven Eastern Cape hospitals are part of the 93 public healthcare institutions that are cited in the 532-page report, entitled "The Horrors of State and Provincial Hospitals in South Africa".
The party embarked on a countrywide campaign from July 2022 and August 2023 and said it received hundreds of complaints.
MP Philip van Staden said the document had been submitted to the SA Human Rights Commission for further investigation.
The report is also available on the FF Plus website.
"The report contains countless tales of inhumane treatment and negligence, which resulted in the deaths of many people," Van Staden said.
"Graphic details and photos are also contained in the report".
He said: "One such example (accompanied by photos) is an incident that transpired at the National District Hospital in Bloemfontein where a pregnant woman in labour's cries for help were reportedly simply ignored. The baby was stillborn after which it was placed in a medical waste bag and thrown into a waste bin before the very eyes of its shocked parents."
Van Staden said the report "simultaneously serves as irrefutable proof that the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) is doomed to fail. Government is not even able to manage the current system properly.
"The NHI has no realistic chance of success and will ultimately totally destroy healthcare for all South Africans."
The FF Plus said it was awaiting comment from the National Health Department.
