Crowded Edenvale Hospital needs to be expanded

19 September 2017

The Edenvale Hospital in north east Johannesburg is severely overcrowded, with some patients on stretchers in the corridors.

I observed this when I did an oversight visit to the hospital yesterday.

There are 230 beds but more than 250 admitted patients at any one time.

The Casualty Department is the worst affected as patients can wait there for up to a week before being admitted to a ward.

There are 12 beds in the Casualty which were all occupied, and I saw another 10 patients on stretchers.

It is also very crowded in the area where patients wait for their files, which can take two hours as there are only three computers and they may have to stand as there are not enough chairs.

See photos here, here and here.

Maternity is also very busy, with more patients than available beds.

The pharmacy, however, has improved except for periods of high pressure.

I am disappointed that there are delays in expanding this hospital which takes in large numbers of patients, some from as far away as Diepsloot and Tembisa.

Ideally, there should be new wards for 100 extra beds and a new casualty. The entrance area should be expanded with more seating, and there should be two more operating theatres in addition to the present three theatres.

The planned reopening of the Kempton Park hospital would also assist in taking pressure off the Edenvale and Tembisa Hospitals.

I hope that building projects are done as soon as possible as the overcrowding is getting worse as the population grows.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 19 September 2017