Gauteng MEC for Health must urgently provide clarity on the closure of the Charlotte Maxeka Hospital
25 May 2021
The Gauteng Department of Health cannot put the re-opening of the Charlotte Maxeka Hospital off any longer and so, the FF Plus has asked the MEC for Health in the province, Nomathemba Mokgethi, to provide clarity on the situation at the Hospital.
The Charlotte Maxeka Hospital was closed in April this year after a fire broke out at the Hospital and patients had to be moved to other hospitals in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, the two other hospitals in Gauteng, namely the Helen Joseph and the Rahima Moosa Hospital, are plagued by water shortages that seriously hamper their functioning.
The MEC must provide clarity on when repair work on the Charlotte Maxeka Hospital will commence and when the project is expected to be completed as well as how the water problems at the other two hospitals will be resolved.
The FF Plus is of the opinion that the hospitals in Gauteng will not be able to handle the imminent third wave of Covid-19 infections if the Charlotte Maxeka Hospital remains closed. During the second wave, 150 patients were treated in the Hospital every day.
The party also wants the MEC to indicate whether the Department of Health has entered into any kind of agreement with private hospitals pertaining to a possible shortage of beds at state hospitals.
The closure of the Nasrec Field Hospital in February this year raises many questions as there were clear signs that the pandemic could flare up again and that the province must be prepared for a third wave.
The Nasrec Field Hospital was opened in April last year and was equipped with 500 isolation beds as well as a quarantine ward. The equipment has since been moved to other hospitals.
Healthcare in Gauteng provincial hospitals has been brought to its knees and the Health Department's indifferent attitude is making the situation worse by the day.
In the upcoming local government elections, voters will have the opportunity to stand up and stand with the FF Plus to send a strong message that the ANC's destruction of healthcare will not be tolerated.
Issued by Anton Alberts, FF Plus national chairperson and MPL: Gauteng, 25 May 2021
