Sabie Hospital worst in province
The hospital has not received any money from their budget for a number of yeares. Parts of the hospital is in such bad shape that they have to be demolished.
SABIE – This historic town’s only hospital has been rated the worst in the province over the past financial year. Carolina Hospital is rated the best.
This is according to a provincial hospital survey by the National Department of Health (DoH) which was conducted from June 9 to 11 on all state health institutions in Mpumalanga.
It focused on six health-priority areas, namely cleanliness, safety and security of patients and staff, waiting times, staff attitude, infection control and drug supply. DoH representatives visited the hospitals in the province unannounced to test them according to the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC).
The report showed that Sabie Hospital did not have adequate medical and cleaning supplies or medical equipment and a lack of ventilation and sterility contributed to its poor infection control. The staff-attitude score was also extremely low.
Most problems in the hospitals are not their fault, but originates at the department,
said DA MPL Ms Jane Sithole. “There are local administrative matters such as the doctors and nurses failing to sterilise their hands in between patient inspections. These are responsibilities of the hospital. However, the lack of supplies and safety issues is a direct result of a lack of finances from the department,” Sithole said.
According to the DoH’s Annual Performance Plan (APP), Sabie Hospital has experienced a lack of financial support for the past four years. A budget was drawn up in 2011 to reconstruct the out-patient department as well as the male general ward. However, the hospital has only recently received some of the funds totalling R70 million and only started constructing the new wards in January this year.
The total cost of the project was originally estimated at R320 milllion. The APP stated that the male ward had to be demolished because it consisted mainly of asbestos. The new wards will be inaugurated in January next year.
According to Mr Chris Nobela, spokesman for health, the following upgrades were underway at the hospital: The renovation of the administration block to convert it into a male ward; construction of the out-patient department, casualty and pharmacy block; the removal of asbestos and prefabricated structures; the upgrade of the security fence and guardhouse and the conversion of the current maternity ward into a paediatric ward.
However, Sithole slammed the department for taking this long to start renovations.
The budget assigned to this hospital has not been spent because the department spends it in other areas each year. As a result, the budget keeps shrinking.
The DA feared that the construction of the hospital will not be as efficient as it could be due to the decreased budget. The four hospitals trailing Sabie as the worst in Mpumalanga are Impungwe Hospital in eMalahleni, Middelburg Hospital, Embhuleni Hospital in Elukwatini and Matikwana Hospital in Bushbuckridge.
“It was surprising to see that Rob Ferreira Hospital did not appear on this list,” Sithole said. Lowvelder reported in March this year that the DA conducted its own survey and found this hospital to be the second worst in the province. However, the DA allegedly did not follow the OHSC standard for surveying and the DoH rendered their findings void.
Nobela responded that Rob Ferreira was not on the list, although it was also surveyed, “because it was neither among the top five nor the bottom five hospitals”.
The five best institutions in the province are Carolina Hospital, Barberton Hospital, Amajuba Hospital in Volksrus, Ermelo Hospital and Evander Hospital.
