BY ERIC MATOME KGOMO
Barberton:The police in Barberton are in search of a group of people who allegedly attacked and fatally shoot a man in Barberton Hospital premises.
According to Mpumalanga Department of Health Spokesperson, Dumisani Malamule, two gun shots patients were admitted in the hospital on Sunday 4 April to be treated. Apparently, a group of community members came to the hospital for revenge against one of the patients who sustained gun shots wounds. “On arrival, they found that the gate was locked and jump the palisade fence and went to the casualty. Fortunately, casualty bugler door was locked and they could not gain access to the hospital building. The police were already inside the hospital and the community could not force entry,” he said. Malamule said the attackers then went to the parking area and shot the driver of the car who was escorting one of the gun shot patients. “The man has since died and the community also set his car alight. The Police handled the incident well and no staff members were injured in the incident,” he said.
MEC for Health in Mpumalanga, Sasekani Manzini, strongly condemned the incident. “It is very sad that our people resolve to take the law into their hands. It is also not acceptable that our people now force their entry into our health facilities and seek revenge. This incident has seriously affected the staff and patients in Barberton Hospital. We want to plead with our communities that they should not enter our health facilities and seek revenge as this endanger the lives of our staff and patients,” Manzini said. The MEC applauded the police for their swift response on the incident and for handling the situation well, ensuring that none of the staff members is harmed. The attack on health facilities seems to be prevalent lately as another incident occurred at a medical facility in Mabopane on Wednesday 31 March.
According to Netcare 911, during the incident a receptionist was fatally wounded, where a doctor and an employee are in critical condition, after an attack by unknown gunmen.
“Reports alleged that an unknown number of armed suspects stormed a doctor’s rooms, demanding cash. A shooting ensued and an adult female receptionist was shot, sadly sustaining fatal injuries,” said Netcare 911 Spokesperson Shawn Herbst. Herbst said an adult female, believed to be an assistant in the doctor’s rooms, sustained serious injuries after being shot and was treated on scene by advanced life support paramedics.
“The doctor, an adult male, had also been shot and was rushed to hospital in a private vehicle from where he was airlifted by Netcare 911 helicopter ambulance to a specialist facility. Circumstances leading up to the incident will be investigated by the relevant authorities,” said Herbst.
