State ordered to restored health services in Khayelitsha 25-06-07

 

State ordered to restore health services in Khayelitsha. Meeting in
Khayelitsha tomorrow.

> Dear Journalists

> The Cape High Court has ordered the state to restore health services in
> Khayelitsha. Details to follow later on the TAC News Service.

> TAC and the Coalition Against Public Health Cuts to hold mass community
> meeting in Khayelitsha tomorrow, Wednesday 27 June

> Health services in the Western Cape and specifically in Khayelitsha
> continue to fail to meet the enormous health needs of its people. The
> terrible queues, unacceptably long waiting times for hospital beds and
> delayed operations have been highlighted in recent months. They depict an
> ongoing life and death crisis in health care.
> For some years, the Department of Health in the Western Cape has promised
> the people of Khayelitsha a new hospital. This promise was welcomed as the
> need for additional centres to relieve the tremendous pressure on existing
> hospitals is urgent. However, we have still not seen any evidence that
> this hospital will be built now or in the near future.
> Instead, the Department has cut the budgets of Groote Schuur and Tygerberg
> hospitals (total R56 million). These hospitals belong to the people of
> Cape Town and are used primarily by the poor of this city. People from
> Khayelitsha depend on these services and form a high percentage of the
> patients in these two hospitals.

> We are inviting the Department of Health to our meeting to:
> inform us of progress on the building of the Khayelitsha Hospital,
> * explain why community, trade union and health worker protests
> against the budget cuts at tertiary hospitals have been ignored and
> * address the staffing crisis in our community clinics.
> *
> Here are the details of the meeting:

> Date: Wednesday 27 June 2007
> Time: 15:00
> Venue: Site B Community Hall, Khayelitsha

> Contacts:
> Vuyiseka Dubula 082 763 3005
> Lydia Cairncross 082 786 7014