Charlotte Maxeke Hospital’s casualty department set to reopen on Monday
Health officials are waiting with bated breath for a crucial section of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital to reopen on Monday following a host of delays.
The hospital was gutted by a fire more than a year ago.
Last month, Health Minister Joe Phaahla promised that repairs to the hospital’s casualty department would be completed by the end of April.
That wasn’t the case and the delay has had a massive knock-on effect on the province’s healthcare system.
Phaahla is expected to lead the official reopening of the accident and emergency units but health officials aren’t impressed.
Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital flatlined over a year ago.
The once-bustling hospital, which served as the artery of Gauteng’s health network system, is now a symbol of the national and provincial government’s ineptitude.
The continued failure to meet the inconsistent deadlines to fully reopen the hospital has led to a health crisis that needs far more than a public outcry.
At the Helen Joseph Hospital, patients have been forced to squeeze in next to each other as they wait for treatment – if they are lucky enough they’ll get a bed in one of the overcrowded wards.
Head of the emergency medicine department, Dr Patricia Saffy said that it was a heart-wrenching scene.
“When you got up to 70 people waiting on chairs which you don’t have plus 30 people on the bed, and we’ve got nowhere to move them to it’s a huge strain,” Saffy said.
The busy corridors are the least of this facility’s problems – Dr Saffy said that they did not have enough staff, money, or resources which means that vulnerable patients are at risk while doctors are overburdened.
“I don’t know how our healthcare system is going to continue to function the way it is at the moment,” Saffy said.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla is expected to reopen the accident and emergency unit.
-EWN
In other news – Sad scenes: Inno Morolong involved in a deadly car accident
South African influencer, Inno Morolong has miraculously survived a horrible car accident that almost claimed her life yesterday afternoon.
The star is said to have survived the accident but has also suffered serious injuries and was rushed to the hospital immediately. The news was made known by entertainment blogger, Learn More
