Save our hospital: DA pleads with Health MEC
Provincial leader Moodey said converting the hospital into a wildlife park wouldn't be a bad idea, considering the jungle-like state of the hospital
HEALTHCARE, and not ghost tours, is what the DA was toy-toying for on Thursday morning outside Kempton Park Hospital.
DA ward councillor, Jaco Terblanche, DA national spokesperson and political head of Kempton Park and Tembisa, Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL, and DA Gauteng provincial leader, John Moodey MPL, led DA activists in a peaceful picket in front of the abandoned state hospital.
Next year it will be 20 years since the state hospital’s doors were shut with millions of rands worth of equipment left inside to either be destroyed or stolen.
Nt’sekhe was first to speak, opening her speech with some spine-chilling words regarding the horrific effects of the government’s decision to close down the hospital 19 years ago.
“This morning I’d like to honour those who have lost their lives at Tembisa Hospital because they didn’t get attended to on time, because they didn’t receive the care they needed, or because their hospital file was not found and they were turned away – only to die at home,” Nt’sekhe remarked.
“The decision to close this hospital was a bad one. Cheap politics cannot be the order of the day when we are talking about the lives of South Africans. The objective of government should be to save lives.”
Over the years, the former healthcare facility has deteriorated to a poor condition; with the grounds not being properly maintained, the grass often left to grow which makes it easier for criminals to lurk in the bushes, the ceilings have been ripped out and there are broken windows and doors.
There have also been allegations in the past that security officers at the hospital can be paid R50 for a “ghost tour” of the hospital.
Moodey reckoned converting the hospital into a wildlife park wouldn’t be a bad idea, considering the jungle-like state of the facility.
“Maybe converting the hospital into a game reserve would be more conducive as this would probably stand a chance of generating much-needed funds to cover service delivery costs,” Moodey commented sarcastically.
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If the Gauteng Health Department, Moodey added, spent its funds wisely, the hospital would have been opened long ago.
Nt’sekhe concluded that the opening of the hospital would no doubt reduce the pressure on Tembisa and Edenvale hospitals, especially considering the fast rate at which the population is growing.
“The Ekurhuleni metro has proposed a township development not far from Birchleigh. This development would bring additional pressure to Tembisa Hospital, giving it further difficulty with coping,” Nt’sekhe added.
Opening Kempton Hospital, the DA said, would give the growing Kempton population access to healthcare where they already live.
