Gauteng Health worried about water shortages at its health services

Gauteng Department of Health is concerned about the ongoing water disruptions that continue to negatively impact service provision at health facilities.

A power failure reported by Rand Water on 30 May affected parts of Johannesburg, and Rand West, Merafong City, and Mogale City local municipalities, and resulted in reservoirs running low thus affecting water supply.

The provincial health authority had engagements with various stakeholders including Joburg Water, Rand Water, and the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development to try and find a lasting solution to the ongoing water supply problem.

A statement issued by the health department read, “As an interim measure, provision is always made to supply affected facilities with water tankers, however, given that health facilities require tons of water to perform various services, and the need for sustained supply of water, the stopgap measure only allows for limited service provision.”

The ongoing water disruptions in Brixton, Crosby, and Hursthill have continued to affect water supply to Helen Joseph Hospital, Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, and Leratong Hospital.

According to the department, the management of Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa hospitals have attempted to alleviate some of the pressure by transferring some of their patients to other hospitals and also performing some of their theatre operations at sister hospitals.

The statement concluded, “We continue to appeal to communities and our patients to bear with us as various government agencies are working to find lasting solutions to the prevailing challenges which are outside our core mandate.

This will allow the Gauteng Department of Health to focus on the provision of clinical care to patients.”
The department also expressed its gratitude to the good Samaritans who continue to work closely with some of the facilities to provide temporary relief.