Covid-19: Strikes and even a bomb hold up hospital beds in Gauteng

As Gauteng reaches a Covid peak, plans for hundreds of extra hospital beds have been delayed by months.

A report to the Gauteng legislature this week describes how the provincial health department failed to ensure that 1,100 critical-care beds would be ready.

Officially the province has 4,344 private and state hospital beds, but the department said 5,277 Covid patients were hospitalised and there were over 35,500 active cases.

The Gauteng government’s plans for an extra 1,000 intermediate-care beds at Nasrec field hospital have also been delayed, allegedly by health officials’ failures to sign documents so the infrastructure development department could start work.

The infrastructure upgrade at Nasrec, downscaled in November after the first Covid-19 surge subsided, will cost R22m. Nasrec currently has 1,000 beds.

The infrastructure readiness report distributed to health committee members this week highlighted how the bed crisis has been compounded by staff shortages.

To ensure enough beds, the provincial government will improve four hospitals through its alternative building technology programme. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto was to get 500, and 300 each were planned for Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging and two hospitals north of Pretoria, Jubilee and Dr George Mukhari.

The projects at Dr George Mukhari and Jubilee were halted by strikes that turned violent, said infrastructure development department spokesperson Bongiwe Gambu. An excavator was petrol-bombed at Bara, but 300 critical-care beds are now available there, said the report. Medical equipment still has to be delivered. At Jubilee, only 95 of the 300 beds can be occupied.

The building site at Dr George Mukhari remains closed. “Subcontractors have left site due to nonpayment. Revised completion of January 29 2021 for the [first] 150 beds and the remaining 150 beds to be completed by February 26 2021,” said the report.

“No significant progress” had been made at Kopanong. Gambu said the R220m project would be completed by March 31.

The addition of 150 beds at Bronkhorstspruit Hospital, with the help of a R12m gift from BMW SA, has also stopped. There was a conflict between the main contractor, Radon Projects, and subcontractors, said BMW spokesperson Diederik Reitsma.

Herbert de Wet, director of subcontractor Troncon Projects, said work stopped when some subcontractors demanded “exorbitant” payment increases. “Our staff have been threatened if they set foot on site. Last week people came to the site armed.”

Radon Projects director Barry du Preez declined to comment.

Bronwynn Engelbrecht, a Tshwane Covid task team member, blamed an ANC ward councillor for inciting subcontractors and accused the provincial government of “allowing everyone to revolt even when people are dying”.

Gambu said: “The issues raised by local subcontractors relate to allocation of 30% local beneficiation on all the state infrastructure projects.”

At Nasrec, Gambu said the infrastructure department was awaiting a “request for service” authorisation from the health department. “The cost of the additional infrastructure installation is R22m. The facility will be ready end of January.”

Baragwanath hospital is short of 277 staff to operate the new beds. Spokesperson Kwara Kwena said temporary posts had been approved and the provincial treasury had allowed an agency to find staff. “It is envisaged this agency appointment will be concluded by February 4,” Kwena said. She did not respond to questions about why the Nasrec request for service agreements had not been signed by the department.

Rebecca Digamela, Gauteng health committee chair, said: “We requested the department to ensure that all outstanding projects are completed by the end of February. In the strike-affected projects, we urged the department to work hand in hand with those communities.”