Health in South Africa going up in smoke
22 September 2022
In answer to a parliamentary question from the DA, the Minister for Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, revealed there has been seven hospital fires between May and August 2022. This is unacceptable.
Since January 2020, 17 hospitals across the country experienced fires, and while many were extinguished quickly and with minimal damage done, these fires highlight the lack of maintenance and failing infrastructure in our health facilities.
In May 2021, two patients lost their lives when a fire started in the Covid-ward at FH Odendaal Hospital in Modimolle. One of the patients, a prisoner, was chained to his bed and nurses were unable to get the bed out of his small room, while the guard could not be found to unlock his handcuffs. The bulk of the ward was gutted by fire and severely damaged.
Carltonville Hospital lost medical equipment and PPE in a fire and the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital suffered extensive losses in both infrastructure and medical equipment in April of 2021. The repairs and recovery of losses run into millions of rands.