Johannesburg - I remember that night vividly. She breathed heavily and complained of chest pains. I remember the hospital floor was cold, the icy concrete seeped into her bones. She shivered and gradually faded away, growing roots of frost as she planted herself on the hospital floor. Her voice dropped a few notches as she quivered.
It was 2014 and my aunt, Mabeleza, had been waiting for three nights to get a bed at the hospital.
There was no public wage protest action by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) that day, there were no doctors either, and the contamination on her arm from the drip began. I remember thinking that maybe if brokers were things of the past and medical aid was cheaper, she would have had access to a bed, and perhaps even a doctor. But the reality was that she was one of many, waiting for her turn to play musical chairs with death in the admission ward at Chris Hani Baragwanath. A few years after the death of my aunt, a cousin of mine, Pontsho, also met her final exit under similar circumstances.
As I pen these words, my heart aches for those who have lost their loved ones as a consequence of the strike. Their sacrifice is not in vain, for it has brought to light the harsh realities of a society that is still rife with injustice and inequality.
Any revolution or protest comes with a price. It is a price paid in blood, sweat, and tears; a price that the brave and bold must pay for the sake of a better future. The recent public wage protest by Nehawu has highlighted the severity of this price, with the tragic loss of at least four lives.
I have seen the state of healthcare in South Africa, and it is not a pretty sight. The poor suffer the most in this metaphorical battle where they fight for a fair share of resources.
But this fight is not without its casualties. The sacrifice of a few cannot outweigh the need of the many. It is a harsh reality, but one that we must accept if we are to achieve a society that is fair and just for all.
And the reality is unfortunate, on-duty health workers are responsible for more deaths than protesting union members. It seems we are doomed whether they are out in the streets with placards or negligent in the admission ward and beyond. In 2021 Gauteng public hospitals recorded 1 954 deaths from negligence by staff members. It’s called Severe Adverse Events - the unintended harm to the patient by an act of commission or omission rather than by the patient’s underlying disease or condition.
I speak from pain, Mabeleza's death was a tragedy, and to this day, nothing inside me is intact. No one else has to suffer the same fate. We owe it to Mabeleza, to Pontsho, to the fallen four and to the multitudes who suffer needlessly at the hands of an inadequate healthcare system.