The Democratic Alliance (DA) wants confirmation from the Northern Cape Health Department that a criminal case was opened, as large parts of the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital (RMSH) in Kimberley remain without hot water, a month after copper pipes were allegedly stolen from the facility.
The DA has received complaints from patients regarding the lack of hot water at the hospital, as temperatures plummet. Copper pipes, stolen from a restricted area, are reportedly the cause of the lack of hot water.
The DA wants to know how it is possible that copper thieves gained access to a restricted area and removed pipes undetected, from an area behind lock and key, at a facility that is protected by security guards. This matter necessitates an internal investigation, as insider involvement cannot be ruled out. We also seek the criminal case number, as an assurance that this incident was reported to the police. In addition, we require a status update of the hospital’s security contract, and whether past commitments by MEC Maruping Lekwene, to bolster security and get the CCTV cameras at the facility up and running, ever materialized.
The DA has also long raised our concern about the critical lack of maintenance at RMSH and other facilities. Last week, we exposed the lack of water at the Hester Malan hospital in Douglas, whose taps have been dry for over a month.
The situation at RMSH, the province’s only tertiary facility, cannot be tolerated. Patients and staff face increased risks of hygiene-related infections, due to a direct impact on proper cleaning and sanitation. The provincial department previously gave its assurances that it was in the process of appointing a maintenance contractor for health facilities. We need answers as to whether this contract was ever finalized, and why it took the hospital maintenance manager and the contractor so long to identify the cause of the heating problem at RMSH, and to restore hot water to the facility.
The DA will demand answers at the legislature committee meeting scheduled with the health department this week.
Increasingly limited resources at government hospitals must be fiercely protected and maintained, to ensure sustained health care provision for the sick.