Letter: No intensive care unit at local hospital
Patients requiring intensive care are referred to hospitals in Polokwane or Mokopane.
Desiree van der Walt MP, DA Political Head for Waterberg Constituency, writes:
This week the DA conducted an oversight at the Warmbaths Hospital following numerous complaints from Bela-Bela residents.
The biggest challenge at the hospital is its location, as patients from four provinces — North West, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and Limpopo — are admitted there.
No patients are turned away, despite the protocols for admissions. This creates long waiting lists and growing backlogs.
The hospital has 135 beds and two theatres, but no intensive care unit. Patients requiring intensive care are referred to hospitals in Polokwane or Mokopane.
Although the hospital no longer qualifies as a regional hospital, the specialists remained on staff.
The hospital buildings require urgent maintenance and the lack of maintenance by the municipality on the stormwater drainage system is causing underground water to build up under the buildings. Due to staff shortages, there is an agreement with the municipality to maintain the grounds. This however is not done regularly and neglect was visible when visiting the hospital.
We will conduct an unannounced oversight visit in due course to find out if there are any improvements.
The DA believes that a caring government must ensure that accessible, affordable, high-quality health care should be available to every South African.
