The Helenvale Clinic in Nelson Mandela Bay's northern areas has been shut down due to ongoing violence and shootings which have made working conditions untenable for nursing staff.
On Friday they were preparing to relocate to other premises after the Eastern Cape Department of Health decided that the facility had become dysfunctional due to safety concerns, in what is a gang-infested area.
Community leader, Farouk Jeptha of the Concerned Citizens of PE Metro, said that in the last week people at the clinic were threatened with knives.
He explained that after shooting incidents occur, gang members seek medical assistance at the clinic while their rivals see this as an opportunity to hit back at them.
"People just feel unsafe, even the police. Last week the security guard was beaten up and threatened with a gun,” he said.
He added that the nurses were intimidated and living through a nightmare on a daily basis, as criminals would open medicine cabinets and take whatever they wanted.
Jephta said that the nearby Post Office also closed about a year ago because of the ongoing crime. “We were negotiating to have it reopened but I don't think that's going to happen now," he said.
While the community insists that crime is ever prevalent cases were not being reported to the police.
Police spokesperson, Colonel Priscilla Naidu said that no assault cases at the Helenvale Clinic had been opened within the last month.
However, she said that she was aware that the clinic had closed for a few days and that a meeting had taken place last month where it was agreed that a SAPS vehicle would be permanently stationed at the clinic.
Eastern Cape Health spokesperson, Lwandile Sicwetsha, confirmed that the situation had now reached a stage whereby staff at the Helenvale Clinic were unable to function and carry out their duties.
He said that gangsterism and shootings had reached a critical stage and that security staff and the police were unable to guarantee people’s safety during and after working hours.
Sicwetsha also confirmed that police were brought in last month to try to stabilise the situation and to make sure staff were safe, but he said that plan had since been abandoned.
"After intense discussions, it has been decided as an interim measure to move staff to [the] Malabar Clinic," he said.
The Malabar Clinic would now operate daily during the interim arrangement.
- African News Agency (ANA)
