Premier's hospital visit doesn't solve deep-rooted maintenance problems

17 September 2017  

I am pleased that Gauteng Premier David Makhura visited the Steve Biko Hospital last week to check on the broken lifts, but this will not solve the deep-rooted maintenance problems that plague our hospitals.

Makhura needs to ask how it was possible that 27 out of 28 lifts broke down ten days ago, causing chaos as patients and staff struggled with only one working lift.

This is because hospital maintenance is done by the wholly ineffective Infrastructure Development Department which goes from one blunder to another.

This includes the following earlier this year:

- Roof collapse at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital (CMJH).

- Ceiling collapse at the Tembisa Hospital Labour ward

- Partial ceiling collapse at the maternity ward bathroom at Pholosong hospital.

There are also long delays in renovation projects such as the psychiatric wards at CMJH and at Helen Joseph Hospital which should have been completed years ago.

I feel sorry for the CEOs of hospitals who are held accountable for everything that happens but have little control over the state of their buildings.

Premier Makhura should consider the devolution of maintenance to the larger hospitals otherwise problems will continue that endanger patients' lives.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 17 September 2017