SA denies trapping illegal immigrants at hospitals

SA denies trapping illegal immigrants at hospitals

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By Staff Reporter

SOUTH African health officials have rejected reports in Zimbabwean newspapers that they were denying medical attention to illegal immigrants and expectant mothers.

Popo Maja, a spokesman for Gauteng Health department said the reports were "totally untrue" adding that it was not official government policy to discriminate against foreigners or illegal immigrants.

"There is no illegal immigrant who has been denied medical care in public or government sector," Naja told South Africa's Radio Veritas. "Our constitution caters for people who are not South African citizens, and people who are illegal immigrants should be given treatment. In fact, it is not the co-business of health officials to police patients and check if they were illegal immigrants or not."

The Daily News Online, quoting the director of the non-governmental organisation Southern African Women’s Institute for Migration Affairs said Zimbabweans were being asked to produce identity cards or passports with visas or permits before they could obtain medical care at public health institutions in South Africa.

“Most of the illegal immigrants are ignorant about HIV/Aids and they can’t go to clinics and workshops because they are afraid of being arrested. As a result most suffer in silence and we would like to assist them with medication,” Joyce Dube is quoted as saying by the Daily News.

She refused to comment about the South Africans' response.

Maja said: "We call upon our doctors and nurses to treat illegal immigrants equally as South Africans. People from any part of the world who are unemployed should get medical attention."

Pressed further, Maja said doctors and nurses would in some cases ask for people's addresses or IDs in order to update their records or where they felt they needed to monitor the progress of certain outpatients.

He also said there were foreigners and illegal immigrants on free anti-retroviral drugs.

"If any of our officials is found to have called the police for an illegal immigrant rather than giving them medical attention, that particular person is acting outside orders," Maja said.
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