Clairwood Hospital patient allegedly sets herself on fire, leading to destruction of ward

The Clairwood Hospital in Durban is reeling from an early morning blaze where a female patient tragically died after allegedly setting herself on fire, leading to the destruction of an entire ward.

A 41-year-old female patient was in an isolation ward of the hospital’s internal medicine unit when she started the fire.

According to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health, at least 23 patients were evacuated safely to an adjacent ward, which also subsequently caught alight.

Patient dies, other patients safely evacuated

“They were transferred to other available beds within Clairwood Hospital. The eThekwini Fire Department successfully extinguished the fire, and no other injuries were reported,” department spokesperson Nathi Olifant said in a statement.

A full investigation is underway into the incident.

Dr Imran Keeka, the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) KZN health department’s spokesperson, expressed his sadness over the patient’s passing.

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Keeka said the hospital staff attempted to put out the fire with extinguishers and commended their efforts to save patients.

“It is heartbreaking that they were not able to get everyone out,” he said.

Keeka added that the DA, as part of KZN’s government of provincial unity (GPU), will ensure that there is a comprehensive probe into the cause of the fire.

Probe into the cause of the fire

The party will also conduct an oversight visit in the coming days.

“Our province’s healthcare facilities must look and feel like places of healing. They cannot continue on a trajectory where people dread going there to get better,” Keeka said.

Meanwhile, the department also confirmed two separate accidents involving its emergency medical services (EMS) vehicles in the early hours of Thursday.

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EMS accidents

In the first incident, a bus from the Nakekela Hub from Manguzi overturned near Mbazwana in uMkhanyakude District while transporting 60 patients and two crew members. The bus lost control after it came across a stray cow.

“One patient, who was trapped in the wrecked bus, sadly passed away while the rest of the passengers and two crew members sustained minor injuries and were transported to eMseleni Hospital,” Olifant said.

In the second incident, an EMS vehicle transporting two injured minors from Itshelejuba Hospital to Ngwelezane Hospital overturned when it also hit a stray cow. EMS personnel in uMkhanyakude assisted with the transportation of patients to Ngwelezana Hospital following the accident.

Thankfully, no injuries were sustained by the staff, patients, or their relatives.

“The department also expresses gratitude to members of the public who assisted our patients at the accident scene. The department wishes to express its heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased,” Olifant said.