Chair, on 16 June this year, 78 year old Bets Purcell took a fall and badly broke her femur. She was rushed to Ephraim Mogale hospital, in Limpopo, where she was advised that the leg could not be cast, but would require orthopedic surgery to fix. Twice Ms Purcell was transferred to the Philadelphia Hospital, who was not equipped to treat her condition, and she was transferred back to Ephraim Mogale.
Five times she was transported to the Mankweng Hospital. On every occasion she was told that there was either no bed or doctors to admit her, and was again referred to Ephraim Mogale, three hours away. On the sixth trip to Mankweng, DA MPs and MPLs were present on her arrival to make sure that she was admitted. This was after seven and a half weeks in excruciating pain.
After 3 hours of lying on a gurney she was eventually admitted and operated on two days later. So, there's pain and trauma, the cost of eight Emergency Medical Services, EMS, vehicle trips, of doctors and nurses. Apart from the wasteful expenditure, and the department faces yet another malpractice suit. This is the health system the ANC is promising in its National Health Insurance, NHI. This is the treatment it wants for everybody, no wonder ANC members yet shopping for health care in Singapore? I thank you. [Applause.]