Chaotic scenes played out at Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha on Tuesday as workers rallied over unpaid overtime.
They demonstrated their frustration by blocking ambulances from entering or leaving the premises, resulting in patients being left unattended.
Doctors were left to take on the roles of nurses in addition to their duties.
However, the standoff was short-lived when heavily armed police who responded to the scene used a bolt cutter to pry open the locked gate.
Nurses had taken to the streets from about 9am and marched to the state hospital’s main gate, later locking it.
The protest also caused the morning traffic to come to a standstill.
Public Order Policing Unit members eventually forced the main gate open at about 11.40am.
“The gate needed to be opened to allow ambulances to transport patients in and out the hospital,” police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said.
“No protester can block a gate under such circumstances, and that’s what happened in this case.
“The situation was handled very professionally by the police.”
The protest stemmed from long-standing issues between nurses and the provincial health department over overtime payments.
According to the nurses, overtime had not been paid since October.
Later in the morning, hospital management and the acting CEO met union representatives behind closed doors to discuss the workers’ grievances.
Eastern Cape health spokesperson Mkhululi Ndamase confirmed that the department would authorise the overtime payment to Dora Nginza staff.
“This will be processed in the next run of February 5,” he said.
“Their overtime money will appear in the workers’ bank accounts on February 10.”
Though people had the right to protest, they had do so within the ambit of the law, Ndamase said.
“No-one should be blocking entrances to the hospital as that might have serious consequences for those in desperate need of medical attention.
“It is important to note that this was an unprotected strike action.
“We regret the inconvenience that was caused by the unprotected action.”
A doctor, who did not want to be named, said the hospital was in “sheer disarray” during the protest action.
“The theatre [was] closed and no ambulances [were] allowed in or out.”
Another doctor said they had to fulfil the duties of nurses.
“We [had to] serve patients food and give them their medicine.
“One of the other doctors had to mop the floor this morning.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Emergency Medical Services operations manager Ashwell Botha said its ambulances were initially barred from entering the hospital premises.
HeraldLIVE
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