Ageing infrastructure is compromising the provision of health services at several Free State hospitals, including Pelonomi Tertiary and Universitas Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein.
The lifts at these facilities, as well as those at Dihlabeng Regional Hospital in Bethlehem, Bongani Regional Hospital in Welkom, and Mofumahadi Manapo Mopeli in Qwaqwa, have, in some cases, been out of order for years. This has made the movement of patients at these facilities difficult, as staff members reportedly often find themselves having to carry patients to and from various parts of the hospitals.
This is not the first time Sunday World has reported failures on the part of the Free State health department.
Two weeks ago, this publication highlighted the plight of patients crammed into ambulances during their transportation to specialists’ facilities in Bloemfontein. The ambulances, designed to transport only a few people, cram up to 10 patients at a time and travel up to hundreds of kilometres.
This method of transportation came about after the department sold its vehicles last year and did not secure adequate replacements, leading to the need for ambulances to accommodate more patients than they are designed for.
Last year, the department was embroiled in a scandal involving over R500-million paid to Buthelezi EMS and its affiliated companies. Although the company has since been ordered to pay back the money, the Special Investigating Unit instituted civil proceedings to review and set aside the irregular tenders awarded, as well as the subsequent contract.
The department was found to have paid the money to four companies despite having no valid contracts in place. The multi-million-rand tenders for inter-facility emergency medical services were declared unlawful, unprocedural and unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, insiders at Manapo claim that the crisis is so severe that clinicians must carry patients up and down stairs.
“The crisis of non-functional lifts has been ongoing for several years, during which contractors would occasionally come to fix them, but the lifts would break down again shortly afterwards. This has caused confusion and anxiety for the patients and staff, including their families,” said a nurse at the hospital.
Another medical practitioner at Manapo said the Free State health department was negligent and seemed not to care about the difficult working conditions at the hospital.
“What you see here is heartbreaking, and on top of that, we are expected to perform our duties beyond expectations without support or better equipment to do our jobs. We face many challenges here every day, and nobody seems to care,” said the medical practitioner.
Free State Health Department spokesperson Mondli Mvambi told Sunday World that authorities were aware of the problems posed by the ageing infrastructure, especially lifts, at some of the provincial hospitals. “The previous service provider that was appointed did not perform as per contractual obligation and has therefore been subsequently terminated.
“The department has since appointed an experienced contractor who will not only react to breakdowns but also do inspections and required maintenance on a monthly basis,” Mvambi said.
He added that the newly appointed contractor would focus mainly on four of the province’s busiest facilities, including Manapo.
“The repair work has already started,” Mvambi said.
