Casualty unit only classy on outside

THE Livingstone Hospital's new casualty wing is indeed a classy facility from the outside looking in. That's where it stops. I challenge anybody to tell me otherwise or try to make me believe that things have changed in any way.

I had a chance to witness how things work first hand. I spent hours and hours observing the hopeless look in people's eyes waiting and hoping to be called to see a doctor. My dad was taken to hospital on Friday night just before midnight.

The nurses on duty put him on a bed and gave him a drip, and that was it. We took turns watching over him. He only saw a doctor at 3.30pm on Saturday.

All the promises of better days are just that – promises. Yet time is found to have important gatherings or discussions on persuading a PSL football team to relocate to the city, using millions that could be spent more productively on the needs of the poor. Schools and hospitals need the funds more.

I have seen my own father lie around like a beggar waiting for some ghost doctors to appear. There are far too many promises being made and glossy stories are told. The reality is that the government is failing the people. The poor and the elderly who need the care and respect the most are suffering.

Thank God I have medical aid cover.

Feizal Nicholas, Port Elizabeth