Army medics were providing emergency care at six strike-hit hospitals in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said.
At the request of the department of health, SA Military Health Service members were at Natalspruit, Chris Hani Baragwanath and Helen Joseph hospitals in Gauteng.
In KwaZulu-Natal they were at the King Edward and Mahatma Ghandi Memorial hospitals.
On Thursday strikers prevented ambulances, staff and patients from entering these hospitals and witnesses said they saw staff being intimidated and forced from their posts.
In addition, soldiers would stand guard at the hospitals to protect medical staff and patients.
“To ensure both the safety of SANDF personnel deployed to hospitals and the continued provision of essential services, the SANDF has deployed SA Army elements as a protection element to each of these hospitals,” the SANDF said.
“Our priority is emergency care and any other critical request that comes,” said defence ministry spokesperson Ndivhuwo Wa Ha Mabaya.
‘Golden hour’ under threat
Meanwhile, a 21-year-old man, who needed emergency surgery after his hand had been chopped off, was turned away by two state hospitals, paramedics said on Friday.
“In a case such as this, time is of the essence as the tissue can die,” said ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak.
“Paramedics found a man in Vereeniging with his hand chopped off; the hand was placed on ice and the patient had to be transported to a hospital for emergency surgery to reattach the hand.”
The man was turned away by both Charlotte Maxeke and Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals.
“ER24 paramedics had to airlift a man from Vereeniging to Steve Biko hospital in Pretoria when two major specialist hospitals were closed in Johannesburg,” said Vermaak.
He said ER24 had since not been able to get through to Steve Biko hospital for an update on the man’s condition.
Police spokesperson Warrant-Officer Aubrey Moopeloa said the man’s friend had chopped off his hand with a panga in Sharpeville during an argument over a girlfriend.
Vermaak said the strike was placing the so-called “golden hour” under threat.
“In the past few years, paramedics are trying to stress the importance of the ‘golden hour’ where a patient needs to be seen by a specialist within 60 minutes from his or her injury.”
He said ER24 had been turned away from Charlotte Maxeke, Chris Hani Baragwanath, Helen Joseph, Tambo Memorial and Ernest Oppenheimer hospitals.
“Since the strikes and riots broke out at various hospitals across the country, paramedics are struggling to enter hospital grounds to hand patients over.
“In certain areas ambulances were allowed in, but could not hand the patient over as there were limited staff and the patient had to be transferred to another facility,” said Vermaak. – Sapa