Kimberley - Human blood, flowing from a government hospital into the streets of Kuruman, has raised serious concerns that the town is on the brink of a disease outbreak.
Residents in the Northern Cape town expressed shock and disgust on Tuesday at a stream of human blood that has apparently been emanating from a manhole at the Kuruman Hospital for the past week.
“This is disgusting. A hospital is supposed to adhere to the utmost standards of cleanliness and health but here human blood greets patients. It is a disaster waiting to happen,” one resident said.
Another resident said they feared for the safety of children, whom he said, were “curious by nature”.
“The situation is absolutely shocking. Our children walk barefoot in the streets and could pick up who-knows-what from the stream of blood,” he added.
“At a time when contagious diseases are killing thousands of people across Africa, one would expect a hospital to act urgently if this was to happen but they seem oblivious,” another Kuruman resident added.
The civil rights organisation, AfriForum, said on Tuesday that the situation posed a serious health risk to the residents of the town and should be addressed immediately.
Stefan Pieterse, provincial co-ordinator for AfriForum, said the blood contaminated ground water which farmers used for irrigation.
“This means that people may consume contaminated crops, which could have a devastating impact. What leaves us speechless is that while the Department of Health is fully aware of the problem, as the affected area is used by ambulances, they are merely turning a blind eye. Government hospitals should deliver quality services to South Africans but, in cases like this, vulnerable people are let down and residents put at risk.
“This year was categorised by various violent protest actions by disgruntled communities but when one experience situations like the one at the Kuruman Hospital, it is completely understandable,” Pieterse said.
He added that it seemed as if a blockage in the sewerage system had caused the medical waste to rise to street level.
He further said that the matter had been reported to the environmental management inspectors (commonly known as the Green Scorpions), who undertook to visit the area and take further action.
Pieterse also said that if nothing had been done about the situation by Wednesday he would take it upon himself to clean the area through the use of a private contractor.
Northern Cape Department of Health spokeswoman Lulu Mxekezo responded to media inquiries on Tuesday, saying that the department “would investigate the allegations speedily if more details could be provided on the matter”.
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