The Gugulethu Community Health Clinic is FAILING our community and denying us the right to good health care. The current clinic was built in the 1960s when the community was around 27,000 Gugulethu residents. Since then, the population has increased exponentially to almost 100,000 (2011). Additionally, the clinic now serves the areas of Nyanga, Crossroads, Phillipi, and the informal settlements. Not only is the clinic severely outdated, it also does not meet the government’s Ideal Clinic standards (described here). While there are many issues with the clinic, the main issues we have identified are as follows:

• The clinic is dilapidated and unhygienic, with parts of the structure crumbling.
• The clinic has very little internal space for patients and their families.
• The clinic has a severe shortage of nurses and doctors.
• The clinic lacks the security needed to keep both patients and staff safe.
• The clinic has an inadequate maternity ward, affecting both patients and their families.
• The clinic has no parking spaces, making it dangerous to visit.
• The clinic isn't easily accessible to wheelchair users, as it doesn't have enough ramps.
• The clinic has a tiny trauma section that lacks the beds needed to treat our community.

We are not FREE as long as all citizens of South Africa don't have equal access to good health care. We have a constitutional right under section 27(1)(a) to proper health care, and the Gugulethu Community Health Clinic is failing to provide it to our community. Therefore, we DEMAND the government provide us a new Gugulethu Hospital that will properly care for our communities and address the issues listed above.

For more photos of the current hospital, visit this link.