Understaffed, crumbling Eastern Cape clinic cannot meet demand

The Mpozolo clinic building is dilapidated. A new temporary structure is planned, but it will only be completed by the 2027/28 financial year. Photos: Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

For people living near the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve on the Wild Coast, accessing healthcare is a struggle.

The closest clinic is at Mpozolo, a village with two schools and a spaza shop. It is heavily understaffed, and the building is dilapidated. The clinic serves about 5,300 people from 29 administrative areas. For residents nearer to the coast, a trip to the clinic is long and expensive.

The clinic has only three nurses, but is supposed to have six. There are supposed to be six specialised nurses, but there are none. There is only one pharmacy assistant, and there is no operational manager, general assistant, or property caretaker.

The building is crumbling. When GroundUp visited in November, parts of the roof had been blown away. Inside the waiting room, sections of the roof are broken. Staff and patients say it floods every time it rains. The wooden floors are rotting and full of holes. Some windows are broken.

Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Siyanda Manana told GroundUp a temporary structure would be erected at a new site, at a cost of R1.2-million. This will be completed by the 2027/28 financial year.

Residents of Lurwayizo, a village outside Mpozolo clinic’s “catchment area”, have to travel 20km on a badly maintained gravel road to get to Mpozolo. It costs R40 for a return trip on a bus, and a trip in a private vehicle costs R800.

The Lurwayizo health stop, built by community members in 2019, is in good condition but only opens twice a week.

In 2019, the community built its own health stop, with about R300,000 in donations from residents. It operates as a satellite of the Mpozolo clinic. It only opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and is staffed by a visiting nurse.

But residents want it to operate five days a week. When the Mpozolo nurse is on leave, the facility closes.

“When we built this clinic, we hoped it would be fully operational by now,” said Novelile Mrhobo, a pensioner and member of the committee overseeing the health stop. “Yesterday, people from other villages slept at my house after walking long distances, only to find the clinic closed.”

Ward committee member Ntombovuyo Dlova said the health stop is often closed for three weeks or even a full month. “We desperately need a clinic here. People are turned away because there is only one nurse,” she said.

Manana, the health department spokesperson, said the two-day service is appropriate given that staffing shortages exist across the province’s health facilities.

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