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SAMA condemns attacks on medical doctors

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has condemned attacks on medical doctors and their personnel.  

SAMA Vice-chairman Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa says in the past few months there were more than 30 incidents where medical staff had been attacked.  

The community of Mabopane, north of Pretoria, is reeling after a spate of attacks on medical practices in the area.  

 Dr Mzukwa says doctors are increasingly becoming targets for criminals. 

“More than 30 cases were reported over the last few months. Most of these cases were in Gauteng. As we understand, the method used is the same in most cases. Perpetrators approach the practice posing as patients and then attack the doctors and their staff. They take personal possessions such as cellphones, laptops, jewellery, bank cards and cash.”

About two weeks ago, one such robbery turned fatal when the receptionist at Dr Steenkamp Ngaka’s practice in Peter Magamo Street was killed during a robbery.  

Gauteng Police spokesperson Capt Kay Makhubela said, “Police have opened a case of murder and double attempted murder where a woman was fatally wounded and two victims injured at a doctors consulting rooms in Mabopane Block X. While the motive is still unclear at this stage, it has during the preliminary investigation emerged that about four male suspects wearing facial masks arrived at the surgery and started firing shots indiscriminately.”

Dr Tsepho Molobi’s surgery is a few hundred meters from Dr Steenkamp’s consultation rooms. Molobi’s surgery was robbed twice by a gang of four men in less than two years. 

They’ll come in and there will be that one who makes a public (sic) announcement. The one guy said this is a gun, a real gun, I don’t want to use it. I’m not going to use it. I’m just going to request that you do two things for me: sit still and don’t make a sound. That’s all. And one of my guys will collect your personal belongings. Very systematic, very organised.”

He says the doctors in the area are deciding what steps to take to protect their patients, staff and themselves.

Getting armed response and all that, those are measures that we are considering. Having cameras on-site, that kind of thing. So, it becomes difficult also because no one has criminal written on his head. How do you decipher that this person coming into the practice comes in with bad intentions.

Molobi says getting proper community policing off the ground will also help since the police are overworked. He hasn’t had any feedback from the police about the two attacks at his surgery.

SAMA’s Mzukwa says the country can’t afford to have its health sector fall apart, especially during a pandemic.

This is extremely unacceptable as it places the doctors and the healthcare system at risk but also the staff and their patients. We call upon the security cluster to do the necessary to bring the situation under control. This is an attack on the entire healthcare sector, which cannot be allowed to continue. And we believe that, as a country, we do not want to bring down our healthcare system because we’ve allowed criminals to roam around and destroy our healthcare system.

The police have asked anyone with information to contact the police’s Crime Stop number, 08600 10111.

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