A non-striking nurse has been stabbed at a hospital in
KwaZulu-Natal, health MEC Dr Sbongiseni Dhlomo said on Friday.
She was stabbed at the Northdale Hospital, in Pietermaritzburg,
on Thursday night, and was now being treated at the same hospital,
he said.
"This is very disturbing because there is no need to intimidate
and injure those who don't want to take part in the strike," said
Dhlomo, who was still waiting for more information about the
stabbing.
He was speaking after visiting the KwaDukuza Hospital, outside
Durban, where he received a report on the kidnapping of a
non-striking nurse, allegedly by striking public servants, last
week.
"I believe that the police can still arrest the perpetrators,"
he said.
"It is important to deal with this issue because the story has
even hit the international news. People want to know what happened
and what will happen to the culprits," he said.
Earlier this week, the
police said the nurse had refused to make
an official statement.
The health department said this was because her life and those
of her family were under threat.
The public sector strike has been characterised by intimidation.
On Friday, the office of Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said an
education department employee had been found guilty of
intimidation.
Fiona Kotze (42) of the Bluff, was found guilty of two counts of
intimidation on Wednesday and was sentenced to four years
imprisonment, suspended for five years, said ministerial spokesperson
Zweli Mnisi.
Kotze, who works at a primary school in the Bluff, made two
threatening phone calls in relation to the public service strike,
he said.
In her first call, to an employee of the Bluff Medical Centre,
in Brighton Beach, on 24 August, she demanded that the facility
immediately close its doors.
In her second call, to the principal of the Glen Ardle
School,
in Brighton Beach, on 29 August, she demanded that it close or risk
being burnt to the ground.
"While the South African Police Services recognises and respects
the citizen's right to strike, it does not condone any form of violent
conduct, intimidation and vulgarity," Mnisi said.
After his visit on Friday, Dhlomo said it was heartening to see
matrons and South African Defence Force members helping at
KwaDukuza Hospital, one of the hospitals most affected by the
strike.
"The maternity ward was fully functional, the emergency unit and
the pharmacy were functioning."
He said the provincial government was pleased that HIV positive,
diabetic and tuberculosis patients were getting their medication.
Sapa