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WATCH: ‘You can’t sleep in such a place’: Video shows dire conditions at Tembisa Hospital
The hospital claimed the patients were placed in the overflow area to “decongest” the casualty ward.
Photo: Screenshots from video. Twitter/@Abramjee
A video has emerged on social media showing the poor state of the casualty ward at Tembisa Hospital.
The video shows some patients lying on the floor, while others are on beds without sheets or blankets.
There is also rubbish and dirty linen littered across the floor of the ward.
The person filming the conditions can be heard saying: “This is not on.”
“Look at how our human beings are being stored. I call it stored because you cannot stay or sleep in such a place,” the man says.
The man then calls on politicians to visit the hospital so they can witness the dire conditions themselves.
Watch: Shocking conditions at Tembisa Hospital casualty ward
Health MEC visits hospital
The Gauteng Health Department said MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko visited the facility on Friday.
It said she was there to “assess the situation at the facility’s psychiatric ward” after the “video showing patients sleeping at the casualty overflow area”.
Tembisa Hospital said its casualty unit was full of patients at the time the video was taken. It said the patients had been placed in the overflow area to “decongest” the casualty unit.
The hospital said the people seen in the video are mental healthcare patients. It added that they were moved back to the casualty ward as soon as beds were available.
It also said it is the process of completing an admission ward, which will help avoid congestion in the casualty ward.
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Tembisa Hospital said it does not have the capacity to meet the demand for services.
“Tembisa Hospital is the only hospital in the north of Ekurhuleni and the facility does not turn away any patients, even when its full,” it said.
Hawks raid hospital
On Tuesday the Hawks raided the hospital as part of its investigation into the irregular procurement of contracts worth R850 million.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said they were collecting documents and electronic equipment to help it with its investigation into fraud and corruption at the health facility.
The irregular tenders were uncovered by murdered whistle-blower Babita Deokaran.
She had flagged several cases of possible corruption within the Gauteng Health Department.
Most of the contracts were valued at between R400 000 and R499 000. The reason for this seems to be because the hospital’s controversial CEO Ashley Mthunzi, who is now suspended, could sign off any amount that is less than R500 000. The contracts then didn’t have to go out to tender.
