MEC must answer questions about Tembisa Hospital
1 400 babies are delivered there every month and an average of 140 of these need to be admitted
“Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku still has many questions to answer,” said ACDP president Rev Dr Kenneth Meshoe, MP, who visited Tembisa Hospital on Saturday morning to find out why 10 babies died in the hospital’s neonatal unit during November and December.
Also read:
- Baby deaths: 90 babies crammed into 44-bed neonatal unit at Tembisa Hospital
- Mother of dead baby did not know there was a problem at Tembisa Hospital
He also checked on the general conditions at the hospital.
“Tembisa Hospital management seems to be doing the best they can with the available resources. One of their major problems is overcrowding resulting from being understaffed and a lack of space,” said Meshoe.
“The MEC and provincial government must still explain why little has been done to expand the hospital since it was built in 1972, despite a massive growth in population.
“According to hospital management, 1 400 babies are delivered there every month and an average 10% (or 140) of these need to be admitted. It is obvious that a 44-bed neonatal ward will always be overcrowded.
“We want to know why the nearby Kempton Park Hospital that has been vandalised was closed in 1996 and never re-opened?
“Also, what plans does the Gauteng Department of Health have in place to fill staff vacancies at the hospital? Health-workers who are unable to take lunch-breaks because of staff shortages are more likely to make mistakes.”
