Hanover Park residents say ongoing gang warfare has cost them their hospital.

Over the past two years, the opening hours of the Day Hospital have been reduced from 24 to just 10 hours, with only the Maternity Unit (MOU) being open all day, every day.

Community leader Moulanaa Tohaa Rodrigues says: “These gangsters have prevented us from using the hospital 24 hours a day. Now it is only open from 7am to 5pm.

“It is sad to see elderly people having to travel all the way to Heideveld Hospital because our facility is closed.

“Some people died on the way to the hospital. Sometimes lives can be saved, but first you have to wait for the ambulance to arrive, which has to wait for a police escort.”

Rodrigues made the comments during a community meeting about the surge in gang violence.

He also said: “The community decided they wanted to come together and express their dissatisfaction regarding gang violence and the killing of innocent people.

“We will send our complaint memorandum to the police, law enforcement, the Department of Community Safety and the Department of Correctional Services.

“The community made peace with the gangsters, but it was broken by the parolees who were not party to that peace treaty.”

He added that the community will work to restore peace.

“We gave the police enough time to do something.

“This time our approach will be different from that of the gang leaders, we will mobilize all stakeholders to achieve peace. People will be held accountable.”

Neither SAPS nor Western Cape Government Health responded to queries.

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