Police are searching for two people who shot and killed a patient at a Durban hospital, as the health department re-evaluates its security measures.

The armed men entered the Clairwood Hospital in Mobeni around 18:30 on Friday, said police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala.

“[They] fatally shot a 47-year-old patient. He sustained a gunshot wound to the head.”

According to KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, the “execution-style fatal shooting” happened in the male surgical ward.

The patient, a foreign national, was being treated for previous gunshot wounds, she said in a statement.

The patient had been transferred from King Edward VIII Hospital to Clairwood on December 23 for wound care and rehabilitation.

“It is alleged that… two unknown armed men stormed past hospital security guards, and proceeded to locate the man in his bed, and shot him in the head at point blank range, in full view of other patients and hospital staff. The suspects also forced their way out of the hospital by pointing guns at the hospital security guards,” said Simelane-Zulu.

It is alleged that after the shooting, the suspects walked back to their vehicle and drove off. When they got to the main hospital gate, which had been closed by hospital security guards, they threatened to shoot the guards and forced the gate open before fleeing.

“Although it is not always possible to predict an incident of this nature, which appears well-planned, the fact that these perpetrators were able to escape without getting apprehended by security or law enforcement does call into question our preparedness as a department to react effectively to such acts,” said Simelane-Zulu.

“It means that our system is not as effective as we would have liked to think. Notwithstanding the fact that these people were armed, and that they also threatened our security guards, we should have had a system in place that ought to have made it difficult for them to get away.

She said they would urgently have to re-look at their security protocols and make improvements as far as possible, within their limited financial means.

No arrests have been made as yet, and police are investigating a case of murder.