Water supply a great concern to Themba Hospital patients
“Themba Hospital is at the end of the bulk line and if you experience some breakages along the line, it will always be the hardest hit.
Patients at Themba Hospital remain frustrated with the water interruptions they are facing. Elize Ohlsen told the newspaper that the stench in the hospital is unbearable and the bathrooms are filthy. “I was supposed to be in hospital for a consultation but they postponed due to the shortage of water.
The situation is bad, I have been going there for years and I have never seen the hospital looking as bad as it does now,” she explained. Ohlsen and other patients shared their concerns on Facebook. Last week the Department of Health said there were water problems with the municipal water supply.
On Wednesday municipal spokesman, Joseph Ngala, told Lowvelder that during the floods a lot of bulk lines were damaged resulting in a number of breakages along the Nsikazi South bulk line, which took days to repair. “Themba Hospital is at the end of the bulk line and if you experience some breakages along the line, it will always be the hardest hit.
“During the interruption of water supply throughout Nsikazi South, the hospital was supplied with water tankers. This temporary measure was not enough as the turnaround time was too long due to long queues at the truck filling point and the bad roads as a result of the heavy rains.”
Ngala said the disruption was caused by flooding which resulted in silt and sand filling the sump at the raw water abstraction point. “Then there was the subsequent loadshedding which compounded the challenge of abstracting and treating of water in that scheme. The persistent rains also delayed the work on the sump as divers had to stop quite regularly owing to the raging floods,” he explained.
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Ngala added that water supply at the hospital has returned to normal.
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When Lowvelder contacted the DoH this week, spokesperson Dumisani Malamule said there was water at the hospital, Jojo tanks, reservoirs were full and the water supply from the municipality was in order.
