GP Health Department says it will address appalling conditions at facilities

The Gauteng Health Department says it will address the appalling conditions of its hospitals following the reinstatement of a doctor who spoke out against the failures of the department and its facilities.

Pediatrician Dr Tim de Maayer is back at work at the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg after he placed on precautionary suspension for alleged misconduct.

De Maayer had penned an open letter to the department last month detailing the harrowing conditions faced by patients and staff.

The suspension was lifted after Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi intervened.

The department says the management team of Rahima Moosa has agreed to work together to continue to address the issues raised by de Maayer.

De Maayer’s open letter exposed the shocking state of children’s healthcare, detailing how doctors had to provide life support by cell phone light, incubators going cold due to power cuts and the moral injury of counselling parents whose children shouldn’t have died.

Rather than taking tangible steps to respond to the desperate cries of dedicated professionals, de Maayer was suspended.

But following outrage, the Gauteng Health Department was forced to intervene.

Meanwhile, the South African Human Rights Commission says it plans to visit the facility next week.

-EWN

In other news – Things you probably didn’t know about late Riky Rick’s wife, Bianca Naidoo

Late Hip-Hop star, Riky Rick was a lot of things to different people in his life. He was a musical legend to many, a role model and mentor to some, a friend and confidant to others, a brother and a son to some, a father to his two beautiful children, and a loving husband to his wife.

While the world mourned his death, those closest to him suffered a greater loss than the rest of the world as he left a gap that cannot be filled. Learn More