Toi-toi means picket in Xhosa and there is one on today. Basically the unions have called a strike and all the hospital staff are obliged to take part whether they want to or not. In fact the nurses are reluctant but they face a real threat of physical violence if they work. Flying pickets have been dispatched from nearby towns to enforce this and the police have been on site to prevent any trouble. There is a toi-toi which involves lots of singing and dancing happening outside the gates and this should be enough to satisfy any flying pickets.
From the doctors point of view we were asked to discharge as many patients as possible this morning and put others on weekend leave. Inevitably there are quite a few patients not well enough for this. I've had a look round the hospital and they are getting food and medicines but not much else. There are six of us (5 doctors and a pharmacist) also on site to try and deal with any emergencies.
It should all blow over by tomorrow when the strike finishes and if there are no dire emergencies the impact will not be too great and I don't think there is a real threat of violence at the moment but it has been a pretty interesting day!
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I am a British doctor fulfilling the long-term ambition of working in a hospital in a rural part of Africa. I find myself in the Transkei, a former black homeland of South Africa, which in many ways has been left behind by the economic advances of the post Aparteid era.
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