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Patients, staff and visitors at Kalafong Hospital, in Atteridgeville, were on Thursday left in distress for a fifth day as severe water-supply challenges continue at the hospital.
Latrines are out of order, and there is almost no water available for basic sanitary requirements, nor for the cleaning and mopping of wards and corridors, according to staff and patients.
When TimesLIVE visited the hospital on Thursday, the stench from toilets filled hospital corridors.
Basic hygiene requirements for medical staff are being severely compromised. “Nurses must wash their hands and equipment after every consultation to prevent cross-contamination. With the low pressure of water, everything takes longer, even consultations,” a patient told TimesLIVE.
The disruption of the water supply at the facility is as a result of a pipe that burst near the local railway station on Saturday.
Patients expressed deep concern at being forced to wait longer for services because staff have to leave the hospital when they needed to use a bathroom.
One nurse explained: “I arrived at 08:00 and I was unable to use the toilet during the day. They are in an unusable state. I am rushing home now [at lunchtime] to use the toilet.”
According to a cleaner, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, the low water supply made their daily responsibilities difficult. “Without a consistent supply of water, it is nearly impossible to clean the wards and the restrooms.”
On Thursday, the Gauteng department of health said in a statement that a burst pipe near a local railway station had been repaired on Wednesday, but that continued low water pressure was forcing the facility to reschedule non-emergency appointments and that the pressure had not yet returned to functional levels in the outpatient department, casualty and resuscitation units.
However, the department declared that critical services, including maternity wards, operating theatres, mortuary and food services, remained operational, emphasising that the facility was currently being supported by its back-up infrastructure, which included two boreholes, four sectional tanks and a reservoir.
The deputy federal chairperson of the Democratic Alliance, Cilliers Brink, visiting the hospital on Thursday, raised alarms regarding the timeline of the crisis. According to Brink, the hospital’s reservoirs and boreholes are designed to last for 48 hours. “The fact that the system is currently failing suggests either a long-standing leak or a significant imbalance between low inflow and high consumption.”
He pointed out systemic issues, specifically a limited maintenance budget for the region. “They have been given R1.5m for maintenance in this region. Even if they wanted an external service provider, there are no funds to assist. With Rand Water scheduled to perform maintenance next month, if they can’t handle this now, we are heading toward a major health emergency.”
TimesLIVE
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