From 3 January to date only 38 cases have been confirmed and only one death has occurred. The Gauteng Health Department has reactivated our Outbreak Response Teams at provincial, regional and local levels. The strategies we have put in place include identification of high-risk areas, the provision of adequate water and sanitation and providing information to the public so that they can protect themselves. When we launched the National Health Rights Charter and our Pledge of Service Excellence a year ago we made a commitment to the public that we will never again tolerate disgraceful behaviour in our institutions. While in the latter case investigation revealed that this was a 'staged event' which only existed in the mind of the complainant, evidence shows that indeed a nurse at Tambo Memorial Hospital assaulted the patient, and thereby behaved in an unacceptable manner.
Nothing justifies a nurse assaulting a patient even if the patient is aggressive.
This is against the Public Service Code of Conduct C.2.3 and C.2.8. The case will also be reported to the Nursing Council. We hope that the action we take against this particular nurse will send a clear message to all our employees that misconduct, especially if it violates the culture of human rights we are promoting in our country, will under no circumstances be tolerated. This has resulted in the immediate drop in the theft of medicines and other state property in hospitals such as Tembisa, Ga-Rankuwa and Pholosong. The department is making great strides in gender equality.