PATIENTS at King Edward VIII Hospital - one of the biggest hospitals in Durban - went without water for more than 24 hours this week after a burst water pipe.
Patients were unable to bath or flush the toilets, and were given rations of bottled water while authorities worked to fix the burst pipe.
The Health Department had to call in a water tanker to the hospital.
Sam Mkhwanazi, Department of Health spokesperson, said the water supply to the hospital was restored on Tuesday afternoon.
Patients who spoke to the Daily News yesterday described the more than 24 hours with no water as “horrendous”.
They raised concerns that the germs and bacteria caused by not being able to bathe or flush the toilets made them susceptible to secondary illnesses and infections.
“The toilets were overflowing with human excrement and had a terrible stink within a few hours. On the first day, each patient was given just two cups of water. One was to drink and the other to wash their private parts,” said a patient who did not want to be named.
Another patient said: “People are just upset and there is nothing they can do about it. Everybody did not bath. I had to use a wet wipe to clean myself. Other patients had family members bring them water so that they could wash.”
She said doctors had to send home patients who they felt were not critical.
“We feel sorry for the doctors as they are trying to do their best to prevent infections,” the patient said.
She was, however, not as understanding with some of the hospital cleaners, saying they had refused to clean the hospital toilets because they had not been flushed. The cleaners were also apparently told not to use the toilets.
“We have not heard anything from the hospital about what is happening with the water,” she said.
She said the situation was partucularly bad for her because she had to be in hospital for at least five days with a stomach infection.
A third patient said it would have been better if they were given pass-outs until the situation was resolved.
“We stay under unpleasant conditions. We cannot use the toilet because of the dirt and smell. It would be better if one goes home to a healthy environment,” he said.
Hospital officials placed plastic bags over urinals to prevent patients from using them, as well as “not in use” signs on some toilets.
Mkhwanazi said the hospital was undergoing refurbishments. He did not answer questions from the Daily News on whether surgeries and other medical procedures were affected by the lack of water.
“King Edward VIII Hospital is an 81-year-old health facility. The Department has set aside R60million as part of efforts to restore the hospital’s water reticulation and ablution infrastructure.
“Yesterday (Monday), there was a water pipe burst at the facility. Engineers were dispatched to attend to the problem. The supply of water at this facility has been restored as of this afternoon (yesterday). The department wishes to apologise for any inconvenience caused by this,” he said .