VIDEO: Sewage leaks at Charlotte Maxeke

A doctor, who wished to remain anonymous, who works at the hospital, voiced her extreme concern with the infrastructure problems plaguing the many staff and patients on a daily basis.

Sewage and water leaks are sporadic, but occur consistently in many units of the hospital. The doctor noted that the leaks have been particularly bad the past four months.

“In the last couple of days, it’s probably happened four or five times at least in my unit. The whole place stinks and the leaks are all over the hospital” she said.

The doctor recalled an incident where leaks were coming through the ceiling in the operating theater while there was an ongoing procedure happening.

“There are concerns sometimes that the whole ceiling might collapse. Every time there is a leak they eventually send someone to come tinker, but it’s not a long-term solution, the leaks come back.”

She stated that some clinic rooms had to be closed down, but patients are still exposed because they have to use those rooms as waiting areas, and that the amount of diseases that could be so easily spread through exposure to those fluids will put many people at risk.

The DA’s shadow Health MEC for Gauteng, Jack Bloom has visited the hospital personally and confirms the reports, and emphasised that the main problem on the hospital’s part was poor planning and not a lack of funds.

He highlighted that the Gauteng Health Department failed to spend R538.5 million for capital projects last year.

“The budget is there, it’s just not spent and we can’ t go on with patch up jobs”, he said.

Through spokesperson Lungi Mvumvu, Charlotte Maxeke’s Chief Executive Officer Ms. Gladys Bogoshi, acknowledged the leaks in the hospital and stated that they were unavoidable as sewage pipes were made of cast iron which rust and erode over time.

They explained that leaks in the hospital are attended to when they are reported, and that the chief artisan will normally assess the fault reported and decide if the job can be done internally or if it requires an external contractor.

Although they mentioned that the ideal situation would be to change the entire sewage reticulation system of the hospital from cast iron to polyvinyl chloride, hospital management provided no concrete long-term plan, but did announce that as an interim measure, the artisans will identify all the areas which have, or show, any sign of leakages.

WATCH a Youtube video of sewage leaks from the ceiling of the Children’s Clinic of Charlotte Maxeke Hospital below:

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