Qaanitah Hunter- Cii News (July 4, 2012)
An investigation by the department of health has uncovered fraud and corruption cases involving more than R125m at Durban’s troubled Addington Hospital.
Dr Sibongile Zungu, the head of the health department, confirmed to Cii News that an investigation is underway following reports of irregular expenditure and fraud.
“At this point there are a number of managers and other individuals at operational levels that were either suspended or dismissed,” she said.
The New Age reported that managers from the human resources and finance departments were fired.
Zungu said that they found major irregular expenditure as well as spending that cannot be accounted for.
“There is already limited resources allocated to the hospital and yet the records say that the items cannot be accounted for,” she said
The Addington Hospital is notorious for long queues, pitiable services and unhygienic conditions.
Zungu said various organizations and institutions have come on board to assist the hospital as an investigation continues.
“At this point we are dispensing stock weekly, just to monitor utilization at the facility,” she said.
One disgruntled patient told Cii News that she is very happy that the managers are getting fired.
“When you go to Addington, you wake up at half past five, you stand in a long queue and at 2 o clock they still never do anything and they say come tomorrow. Tomorrow when you go they say come another day,” she lamented.
The patient said she is suffering severe pain in her leg but she was told to come back at the end of July.
“The pain is now. I need the medicine now.”
She said that the problems faced by the hospital are as a result of lazy employees who ‘steal the money of the people’.
qaanitah@ciibroadcasting.com