Daily Sun (September 9 2014) - After eight years of waiting, the brand new, R1,7-billion hospital was opened with a fancy ceremony.
BUT LESS THAN TWO WEEKS LATER CHAOS RULES, WITH SUFFERING PATIENTS SLEEPING ON THE ICY FLOOR!
The new Natalspruit Hospital in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni replaced the old one, which was built on an unstable foundation. It's very beautiful on the outside - but it's a different story inside.
Women patients in ward 18 sleep on the floor, in chairs and on stretchers. A patient who didn't want to be named toldDaily Sun about conditions there. "When I arrived I was put in one of the six beds in the ward because I was a new patient," she said.
"But the next day they moved me to a chair and put a new emergency patient in the bed."
The People's Paper attended the glitzy event when Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi opened the hospital on 28 August.
But there's no glitz and glamour for patients now. "One of the women I was with collapsed on the floor because she was sitting on a chair for too long," the source said.
Another patient said her feet were swollen from sitting on cold and uncomfortable metal chairs. "This is a ward for women who have had miscarriages," a patient said.
"We are not only going through emotional pain, but are also suffering from physical aches." On Sunday night a group of patients was moved to another ward so they could get a night's sleep.
"They woke us up at 5am to go back and sit on the chairs in our ward," she said. "Some of the nurses really feel sorry for us, but we know there is no space."
The wards have stylish new mugs with the hospital's name on them but patients would trade them any time for an old bed to get some rest.
A relative of one patient said things were better at the old hospital. "The new one looks smart, but conditions are terrible," she said.
Gauteng Department of Health spokesman Prince Hamnca said the hospital is facing overcrowding.
"The overcrowding is worsened by walk-in patients with no referrals from primary healthcare facilities.
The majority of these patients do not need secondary care level, so they end up using resources that should be used for critical patients," he said.
Hamnca said the community is urged to attend their local clinics for treatment and will be referred to hospitals if in need of specialised care. People should visit the hospital only if referred by level one facilities or emergency cases.
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