Healthcare services at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha were interrupted on Thursday when a majority of the workers embarked on strike action over unpaid overtime.
The strike comes a week after healthcare workers at the Livingstone Hospital embarked on a go-slow over the same issue.
Fed-up workers were seen dancing and singing inside of the building while airing their grievances.
The main gate which provides entry to the hospital grounds was forced shut, which caused ambulances to be locked inside.
This significantly delayed Emergency Services Personnel (EMS) from tending to emergencies timeously.
Eventually, the police were called in to restore calm
.
A source reliably told Algoa FM News that those who are owed money, include doctors and staff who commenced duty in December, and were still owed their salaries.
A spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Health Department, Sizwe Kupelo said they were aware of the protest.
According to Kupelo, the payment of all outstanding funds was being prioritised.
He said it was "unfortunate" that hospital management had delayed their payment submissions when other hospitals had done so last week.
"Our appeal to the workers is that we do not engage each other through protest actions but rather have an engagement to not endanger the lives of our patients.
"We are working on the logistics to ensure that monies are paid within the next payment run," he said.
Also read: Doctors join go-slow at GQ's Livingstone Hospital
