Question NW3854 to the Minister of Health
14 November 2022 - NW3854
Chirwa, Ms NN to ask the Minister of Health
(a) What steps has (i) he and (ii) his department taken in response to the safety crisis at healthcare facilities where it is reported that close to 50 robberies and incidences of violence have happened at Limpopo health facilities between 2018 and 2022, (b) what plans have been put in place to strengthen the security at (i) the specified healthcare facilities and (ii) others across the Republic generally to protect patients and healthcare workers from violent attacks and robberies of healthcare facilities and (c) by what date will the plans be implemented?
Reply:
(a) In 2018, the Minister of Health, the Member of Executive Council (MEC of Health) Limpopo and the Minister of Police met to discuss safety and security challenges emanating from the incident where a doctor was shot in Limpopo at Letaba Hospital. It was resolved that an Inter-Departmental Task Team should be established comprising of the SAPS, the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), Department of Labour and Employment, Department of Home Affairs, State Security Agency and all Health Provincial Security Managers.
The Task Team in collaboration with National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINS) developed a plan with the following deliverables:
• Development security infrastructure norms and standards
• Memorandum of Agreement between SAPS and Department of Health
• Deployment of Police Reservist at identified hot spot hospitals
• Development of a Health Security Dispensation
• Physical assessment of Hot Spot Hospitals
• Normalisation of Hot Spot hospitals
• Safety of Emergency Medical Services practitioners
(b) The following plans are put in place to curb robberies and incidence of violence in both specified and others across the public healthcare facilities:
• Improving and maintaining physical security infrastructure by implementing security guidelines from Infrastructure Unit Support System (IUSS) across all public health facilities.
• Intensifying private security contract management and access control.
• Deployment of Police reservists on public health hot spot facilities to conduct security compliance inspection at public health facilities with SAPS, PSIRA, State Security Agency, Department of Labour and Employment and Department of Home Affairs.
(c) Security interventions are being implemented in all provincial departments of health and the maintenance thereof is continuous. The Task team meets monthly and has also included organised labour.
END.