Cape Town - In the midst of the City of Cape Town’s plans to close two Mitchells Plain community health facilities, residents went to the streets in a peaceful demonstration yesterday to oppose the clinic's closure.
This comes after community members grew concerned about the Eastridge Clinic and Rocklands Clinic closure. In a report last week, the City confirmed a process was under way. However, community members are still not happy with the plan either way.
Mitchells Plain United Residents Association (Mura) Exco member Alex Lawrence said the issue of the proposed clinic closure caught residents by surprise and there was no indication from City authorities or councillors prior to it being put out on social media.
“I can understand the frustration of the community. There are certain services that the day hospital does not offer that the clinic offers, and with the closure, patients will have to go out of their area to get the services.
“The City is very aware of community organisations such as Mura in Mitchells Plain and they should inform or consult Mura if they intend to reduce service delivery or close clinics in the area. We only got to hear this from press reports that show that the City does not treat community organisations seriously,” said Lawrence.
Mayco member for Community Service and Health Patricia van der Ross said the process to re-evaluate the services is ongoing and no final timelines have been decided.
“The City’s health department confirms that a consultative process is under way on how best to consolidate health services in the interest of the communities. This is being done in consultation with the Western Cape Health Department.”
“This process to re-evaluate the services is ongoing and no final timelines have been decided.”
“It is important to note that there will be community engagement once there is greater clarity on the way forward,” said Van der Ross.
Weekend Argus