KWAZULU-Natal Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, has conveyed his deepest condolences to the families of two valuable staff members from Manguzi and Ntunjambili hospitals, who passed away in separate incidents yesterday.
Mrs Thandazile Octavia Manzini, 55, an expert midwife and operations Manager at Manguzi Hospital’s Maternity Unit, lost her life in a horrific crash involving a car and a truck on R33 at Isimangaliso yesterday afternoon, around 15h30. She was returning from KwaMsane Clinic, where she had conducted training, sharpening the skills of nurses in midwifery.
CEO of Manguzi Hospital, Dr Siphiwe Vumase, described Mrs Manzini’s death as a huge loss, and says staff at Manguzi Hospital are deeply saddened. She joined the Department in 1986, starting at Mseleni Hospital, where she stayed for two years, before moving to Manguzi Hospital, where she worked for next 30 years.
“She was teaching other nurses at clinics in the Mkhanyakude area. Oh, she was one of a kind. We scored many successes and won awards, thanks to her. We are doing extremely well in Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission of HIV, which stands at 1%, largely thanks to her efforts. We have not had maternal death in three years because of her. She visited clinics and worked with nurses all over. We’ve lost one in a million,” said Dr Vumase.
In a separate incident, Mr Phathakahle Jali, 40, the Operational Manager responsible for mobile clinics at Untunjambili Provincial Hospital near Kranskop, was gunned down at his place of residence in the Ntunjambili last night.
He had worked for the Department since 2001. During this period, he worked as a staff nurse, professional nurse, clinical nurse practitioner and, ultimately, operational manager: mobile clinics. He is survived by two wives and seven children.
MEC Dhlomo said: “We are deeply saddened to bid farewell to these healthcare workers under such sudden, cruel, and tragic circumstances. It is always painful to lose colleagues in this manner. We are poorer, because no amount of money can buy the kind of experience that they had between the two of them. There is no doubt that their shoes will be hard to fill.
We want to assure their families that they are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We wish their families strength and fortitude. We want them to know that they have our full support in terms of any psycho-social support that they may need from us at this time.”
Memorial service and funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.
