DURBAN – About 200 patients, including those in the Intensive Care Unit and critical care had to be evacuated from their wards after a fire tore through the Port Shepstone Hospital on Monday.
According to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health the fire broke out in the new block of the provincial hospital which houses several wards, including the Paediatric, Critical Care and the Intensive Care units.
There were no casualties but according to a local Port Shepstone newspaper, three people suffered burns.
The department spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said the fire was contained and the patients were evacuated and stabilised.
"Patients continue to receive medical attention. Patients from High Care and Intensive Care are being transferred to other hospitals in Durban by helicopter and with a fixed wing aircraft,"he said.
Although the cause of fire had not yet been established, police were on the scene conducting investigations.
Mkhwanazi said the department officials were doing all they could to ensure that the health service in need of critical care continues.