Responses to hospital unit’s reopening
The accident and emergency unit of the hospital are partially re-opened in Parktown.
Following the health minister’s site visit and reopening of a unit at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, a couple of responses have been shared.
A collective group of organisations titled the Open Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital Now Campaign through the Defend Our Democracy Campaign said sustained pressure had led to the national government intervening in the repairs.
“We are relieved that after more than a year of prevarication and delay by the Gauteng Province Department of Health, there appears to be some progress on repairing and bringing back into service a vitally important health facility. It is only after sustained pressure from civil society, trade unions, patient advocates and healthcare organisations that the national government eventually intervened to repair the facility,” said the campaign.
They added that they had made a Promotion of Access to Information Act application to obtain the relevant information to determine whether the government failed in its duty of care due to the delay in bringing the facility back into service.
“We have also insisted that joint oversight of the rehabilitation project is undertaken, to which the government has now agreed.”
In another response, the Democratic Alliance (DA) expressed disappointment that the accident and emergency unit at the hospital was not fully reopened.
“This highlights the need for proper security as the scanner was vandalised despite R40 million spent annually on security at the hospital. It appears that there are criminal syndicates that could still sabotage the reopening of other hospital departments.
“Health Minister Joe Phaahla failed to address the security issue in his announcement at the hospital (on May 9), but it is vital that cast-iron guarantees are given that the deadlines are met for obstetrics and gynaecology to open in March next year, pediatrics in July, surgery in October, and internal medicine in November 2023,” said DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC Jack Bloom.
He suggested that the public and the private sector need to work efficiently together to ensure that there are no further delays in getting the hospital departments up and running.
Bloom concluded, “If this does not occur, hundreds of patients will continue to suffer at hospitals like Helen Joseph which cannot cope with the flood of Charlotte Maxeke patients.”
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