The Democratic alliance (DA) in Limpopo is deeply concerned by the state of neglect and mismanagement at George Masebe Hospital in Bakenberg following an oversight inspection by the Limpopo Legislature Health Portfolio Committee today.
The facility is severely understaffed and has a 62 % vacancy rate, most of the managers in the hospital are in an acting capacity and 5 members of staff have been suspended for over 5 months. The hospital is so understaffed that the accounting clerk currently doubles as a mortuary attendant.
The mortuary in the facility is also in a state of disrepair, half of the fridges are not working. There also seems to be no clear service plan for the maintenance of the medical equipment. The Sonar, anaesthetic machine and ECG machines have been broken since 2015.There are also no wall points for oxygen and the machines as well as lights used in theatre are also dysfunctional.
The hospital currently has 4 ambulances that are in for repairs and does not have any functioning ambulances and has resorted to borrowing one from Mokopane Hospital. The ambulances do not have ECG machines and other vital equipment, are all well over 250000 km in mileage, in some cases even over 500 000 kms and are not well maintained. There is also no obstetric ambulances and this compromises the service that can be offered to pregnant women and their babies in the event of an emergency.
The hospital building is badly affected by water shortages, as well as flooding during the rainy season. The buildings are also in a derelict and dilapidated state. The gateway clinic is in an old post office building and has far too little space. This hospital needs to be prioritised to ensure services to the surrounding villages and communities.
It is shocking that while the country has moved to level 1 of the lockdown, there are still hospitals in the province that are not well prepared and equipped to offer necessary, life-saving services to community members. The Limpopo department of Health’s neglect of the facility is even more evident in the staff that have been left to feel dejected and have low morale.
The Limpopo Provincial Government is clearly failing to provide adequate health services to our people. The DA will continue to hold the Limpopo Health Department accountable for the neglect of our public health facilities and the disregard for the patients in Limpopo that use them. The people of Limpopo deserve better.