Tankers have been dispatched to assist with the water challenges at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.
This after the health facility announced at the weekend that it is battling low water pressure that is affecting parts of the hospital.
“Johannesburg Water has dispatched water tankers on site to continue pumping water into the hospital. This intervention is to ensure the continuation of some of the hospital services,” acting CEO Rodney Pheto said on Monday.
“However, it is not sufficient to maintain the much-needed water pressure in the system. The hospital would like to apologise to patients, staff and the public for the inconvenience caused by the current situation.”
Wards affected include the emergency department, the intensive care unit, and various other wards on the upper floor of the health facility.
Pheto said the majority of the wards affected are from the second floor upwards.
“When there is low water pressure, this affects the delivery of water to upper floors of the hospital building, which impacts on services,” said Pheto.
“The hospital’s management is closely monitoring the situation and has put in place measures to divert priority one [emergency and critical] and priority two [urgent but stable] patients to other facilities when necessary.”
He added that management has been forced to divert patients every four to six hours, stating that it is concerned about the impact on other health facilities including the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital.
A number of surgeries have also had to be cancelled as a result of the current water supply challenges.
The technicians from Johannesburg Water and Gauteng department of infrastructure development are investigating the cause of the low water pressure in order to restore the water supply to Helen Joseph Hospital.
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