Charlotte Maxeke Hospital repairs hampered by 'out of control' crime

Despite strategies to accelerate the repairs to and refurbishing of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, the process is still being hampered by crime.

Speaking at a media briefing on the status of the project to get the hospital up and running again, health minister Joe Phaahla said while he was generally pleased with the progress made, the crime and destruction happening at the hospital was “an indictment on society”.

“Have we come to a point where hospitals must look like army barracks? That is not desirable, nor is it affordable. We need to maintain a balance between protecting staff and patients while still functioning properly. We cannot lose the context of what a hospital is,” Phaahla said.

He said after the fire that led to the closure of the hospital in April last year, there had been much unhappiness and confusion on the way forward.

“Last month I met with the premier [David Makhura] and it was decided that progress was unacceptably slow. We agreed that the national department would step in and work directly with Gauteng and all responsibility would be taken away from the Gauteng department of infrastructure and development and given to national and Gauteng health.”

The project was officially handed over on March 4 and the Development Bank of Southern Africa was appointed as the implementing agent. Other donor agencies also came forward, with the Solidarity Fund and Gift of the Givers taking over parts of the upgrade work.

Phaahla said the result was that ongoing work at the casualty and emergency department had speeded up, deep cleaning had been done and while some technical equipment and fittings were outstanding, this section of the hospital would be reopened in April.

“It has been disheartening to note that between the time that patients were evacuated and the time when contractors were brought in to start working, a number of installations like railings were all ripped out for scrap metal. The CAT scan machine that is used in cases of accident and trauma where there are [suspected] head and spine injuries ... has been vandalised. The central processing unit was ripped out and parts from inside were removed,” Phaahla said.

“And this CAT scanner was linked to central radiology by copper cables and they were cut off and now need replacing. Our challenge is no longer just fire damage.”

Initial projections, he said, were that the entire revamp of the hospital would be completed only in 2027, but the new completion date was now December 2023. Block two of the hospital is expected to be completed by July 2023, block 3 in October 2023, block 4 in November 2023 and block 5 in December of that year.

Gauteng health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi said a Special Investigating Unit report into her department was “coming out in bits and pieces”.

So far, she said, three officials had been fired after the first release and the second investigation into the AngloGold Ashanti Hospital has seen three health officials and six from infrastructure development being suspended.

“We are acting as and when the report comes out,” she said. 

Charlotte Maxeke Hospital CEO Gladys Bogoshi said while there was good security at the hospital, crime was out of control. She said the facility was a 13.5ha property with more than 2,000 people in it at any time, 1,068 beds, more than 750 equipment line items and more than 14,000 toilets — to give an idea of the scale of the hospital.

“We have security guards and cameras, but we cannot put cameras everywhere. What we spend on security is taken away from health, but the situation is you can put a new flush mechanism in a toilet today and tomorrow it is gone,” she said

Her sentiments were backed by Phaahla, who said many health facilities had divided their feeder areas into coloured zones for safety reasons due to increased attacks on health officials. In red zone areas, he said, ambulances were required to get a police escort before attending to any kind of emergency.

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