20-05-2025
Pickets outside Umlazi hospital after death of doctor ‘bullied' into working
Labour organisations are calling on the KwaZulu-Natal health department to issue a public apology and acknowledgment of systematic abuse of junior staff and structural reforms at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital after the death of a medical intern last week.
Alulutho Mazwi, 25, an intern doctor at the Umlazi-based hospital who was diabetic, died while on duty last week after allegedly being made to work despite reporting he was unwell.
His death and the circumstances leading up to it have raised questions regarding the treatment of junior staff, specially interns, by their superiors in the hospital. There have since been calls for accountability and systematic reforms from the public and political and labour organisations.
The provincial health department said an investigation into the allegations of bullying in the lead-up to Mazwi's death is under way, and the supervising consultant who allegedly forced him to work despite his ill health has been placed on precautionary leave.
Despite the measures, the Public Servants Association (PSA) led a picket outside the hospital on Tuesday to raise concerns about working conditions, infrastructure and governance at the hospital.
The union, joined by the SA Federation of Trade Unions, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA and the Patriotic Alliance (PA), said the incident highlighted the "toxic" environment junior staff are subjected to at the hospital, including bullying, overwork and overall leadership failure.
