By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Water outages have disrupted services at Helen Joseph Hospital in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.
The emergency department, theatre, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and upper wards are among the affected parts of the hospital, said Motalatale Modiba, spokesperson for the Gauteng health department.
Modiba attributed the disruptions to issues at Joburg Water, which has supplied water tanks to ensure water supply at the facility.
“The hospital borehole is supplying water to some areas, including the kitchen, so cooking services for patients have not been affected,” said Modiba.
Chief executive Dr Relebohile Ncha confirmed the hospital had experienced water interruptions, a result of a reduced supply from Johannesburg Water.
“They reported their challenges and worked on the challenges. To circumvent this problem, Joburg Water brought water tanks to the hospital to assist with filling our tanks,” she said.
Democratic Alliance Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom said the area around the Helen Joseph Hospital had had water problems for the “longest time” and electricity disruptions had made things worse.
“The electricity also disrupts the water supply and I don’t think their borehole is sufficient,” he said. Bloom said the real problem was the hospital did not have contingency plans.
“Helen Joseph Hospital is vulnerable to water shocks and the electricity compounds it when there are big outages. It causes water problems,” he said
“You would have thought they would have learned from the situation before when Gift of the Givers had to dig a borehole, but they simply have not. I am just worried about all our hospitals not having sufficient disaster planning.”