Firefighters called to outpatient section at Tembisa hospital

The Gauteng health department says firefighters from the City of Ekurhuleni are attending to a fire at the Tembisa provincial tertiary hospital’s main outpatient facility.

This area is adjacent to the accident and emergency unit which burned on Saturday night.

The alert about the fire was issued at 7am on Wednesday.

"More details will be shared later as the matter is being investigated," said health department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba.

The fire at the weekend saw the precautionary evacuation of 81 patients.

After an oversight visit on Tuesday by members of the provincial legislature's health committee, its chairperson advocate Ezra Letsoalo said: "It was clear from the engagement that while the fire only affected the accident and emergency unit directly, its influence into adjacent sections due to possible smoke exposure and power disruptions is being attended to.

"Efforts to stabilise the hospital’s operations were underway. Areas such as the family medicine unit and alternative building technologies were being repurposed to accommodate displaced services. Four mobile units have been deployed to support continued patient care.

"A full inventory of undamaged equipment has been compiled, and collaboration with other tertiary institutions and local healthcare facilities is helping to bridge service gaps during the recovery."

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Letsoalo said the hospital had a 79% compliance score under the occupational health and safety assessment, which was above the minimum threshold, with the department of health working towards a broader goal of achieving more than 90% compliance across all health facilities.

Forensic investigations are ongoing.

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