HEALTH CRISIS IN BRONKHORSTSPRUIT

Bronkhorstspruit in north-eastern Gauteng faces a health crisis after the closure of the Bronkhorstspruit hospital and a breakdown in emergency ambulance services.

Things are so bad that a local undertaker converts a hearse into an ambulance to take emergency cases to Pretoria for treatment.

The Gauteng Health Department closed the 20 public beds at the Bronkhorstpruit Netcare private hospital in July this year, and now the entire hospital has closed.

This was a model private/public partnership that used to provide a much needed service in the area. It was the only hospital between Pretoria and Witbank, serving an area with about 100 000 people, including Ekangala and Zithobeni.

The local emergency services are in a dire state, with only one ambulance to serve the entire area.

The Gauteng Health Department must urgently assist in providing proper health care to this sorely neglected region.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Health Spokesman, August 19 2013

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