An investigation into the rape of a Wits medical student at the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg continued on Thursday, Gauteng police said.
Superintendent Thembi Nkwashu said police were still waiting for the girl to make a statement.
On Wednesday police said that the girl, who was raped on Monday, was still in hospital and too traumatised to talk.
She was raped outside the blood bank in a secure area of the hospital. The girl went to the blood bank to complete an errand.
She went home to her parents after the attack.
The Gauteng health department subsequently told the Star that it planned to hire a courier service to run between the wards and the blood bank on the premises of the hospital.
Health department spokesperson Zanele Mngadi said this was part of a move, already under way, to upgrade security at all Gauteng hospitals.
The South African Medical Association on Thursday condemned the attack on the student, saying it highlighted the ”shocking working conditions that medical professionals face[d] on a daily basis”.
”Once again, this incident has poured focus on to the chronic under funding of the public health system. Not only do our doctors and other healthcare professionals face poor working conditions in general, but also a complete lack of safety to be able to practise effectively,” said chairperson Dr Kgosi Letlape.
”This reprehensible act merely adds to the burgeoning list of reasons why we have an understaffed public healthcare sector,” he said.
The association sympathised with the student and her family and also called for safer working conditions for medical workers. — Sapa