WITH the ongoing public service strike taking its toll on the sick and injured at government hospitals countrywide, a senior South African National Defence Force reserve recently found himself with tears in his eyes, delivering babies at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban.
The irregular provision of services at already under-resourced government hospitals has had dire consequences for those needing health care.
Although nurses and doctors are prohibited by law from going on strike as they are deemed part of essential services, 60% of them downed tools earlier this month and joined other public servants in demanding a general salary increase of 10%, down from the original 12%.
This left health services in the country in disarray, although the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health claimed this week that 90% of health workers were back at work.
Since the beginning of the strike on June 1, SANDF members have been deployed at hospitals to fortify police efforts to maintain law and order. This was prompted by government concern that nurses who worked while their colleagues were picketing outside the hospitals had been intimidated and threatened with violence.
The situation was so desperate that, in addition to the deployment of army medical personnel, ordinary members of the force were also called in to help with medical operations.
One such person was Jack Collins*, an SANDF reserve officer with 13 years’ experience.
Collins related how his platoon had had to be resolute in the face of mounting challenges at King Edward two weeks ago. As with other government hospitals, King Edward was operating at minimum capacity when the soldiers were deployed, with only the obstetrics and intensive care units open.
“We got called on a Sunday afternoon and were told the hospital needed manpower. By 5pm we were (at the hospital), with our kit, weapons, ammunition and sleeping bags issued. We were not given orders, except to protect people and the building,” said the Durban man.
The men were dropped off at the hospital the next morning.
“I told my platoon to keep a low profile and not provoke the crowds outside,” he said.
The soldiers were deployed at strategic points in the hospital. Once they had settled, Collins walked around inspecting if all was well. He said he had rubbed shoulders with plain-clothes medical staff who feared for their lives. “The mood was of determination and fear. The problem was that anyone with an access card could come into the hospital and inspect the wards to see who was working and who wasn’t. That’s how the threats come.”
Little did he know that a life-changing experience was awaiting him.
“I came into the labour ward and offered to help there. The nurse happily obliged.” There were only two doctors and two nurses for 26 women in the labour ward. Soon the soldier was being shown how to extract amniotic fluid from the newborn babies.
“The nurse said, right, you take a baby like this, turn it upside down. You take this tube, put it in the nose like this and push it down this far into the baby. Take a syringe, put it in there and then you suck all the fluid out of the stomach. I thought to myself, ‘Oh, that’s interesting’.”
But the experience was about to turn even more interesting for this doting father of two.
“The nurse looked at me and said, ‘You see one, you do one, you teach one’. I said to her, ‘I’m quite happy to help, but I’m a little nervous about this. But every baby’s life is precious’.
“She looked at me and said, ‘You know, that’s not even a thought. We’re so blasé here, we don’t even think like that any more’. That, to me, was a bit surprising.”
Reluctantly, Collins started applying what he’d learnt. He was getting better with each baby. “I did a good couple of them.”
But what was disturbing was to see a row of six babies on a metal shelf, with nothing but a piece of paper for identification. Their names were scribbled in pencil and the pieces of paper were placed next to their heads.
“I said to the nurse, ‘But what if the babies get mixed around?’ She said, ‘Oh they get mixed up sometimes. You know, it happens’. That really bothered me, but I didn’t know what to say or do.”
With 12 of the 26 women in labour on the night, the soldier had to quickly graduate from draining amniotic fluids from babies to delivering them.
“I delivered the first boy, and then half an hour later the second boy came. About two hours later, the third baby, a girl, came. During this time, nurses were hovering back and forth attending to all the women and coming to check if I was doing all right.
“Fortunately, all three births were quite straightforward. Only later did I think to myself, ‘Wow, did I just do that? What if something had actually gone wrong there?’”
Collins said his involvement in the army was his way of servicing the social contract.
“I believe as citizens, we benefit by having a stable economy and access to services. This is my way of paying back.”
He has described his experience at the hospital as unforgettable and absolutely brilliant.
“I had tears in my eyes and was crying through the whole process. I mean, here I was doing something so real, that is about people’s lives. To have that kind of direct personal effect on someone’s life was really emotional.”
* Name has been changed.
