Gauteng hospitals need R6 billion to be safety compliant - DA

JOHANNESBURG  - Gauteng public hospitals are in such bad condition that it will cost about R6 billion to make them compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the main opposition Democratic Alliance said on Monday.

The revelation came during a presentation by the Gauteng health department to the provincial legislature’s health committee last Friday, the DA's shadow member of the executive council for the sector Jack Bloom said.

"All 32 hospitals need expensive building alterations, ranging from R11 million for the Rahima Moosa hospital to a whopping R810 million for the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital," Bloom said in a statement.

Critical areas include general machinery regulations, electrical installation regulations, fire-fighting equipment, lift regulations, storage, exits, stairs and aisles.

Bloom said there was very little funding for this in the three-year medium term expenditure framework, but the department was submitting proposals for R1.7 billion for the 10 worst hospitals in the province.

"I doubt whether the money will be made available in view of budget tightening by the National Treasury," he said.

Years of poor maintenance had resulted in not a single Gauteng Hospital that is compliant with safety legislation, Bloom said, meaning none of them could be part of the government’s National Health Insurance as they needed to be accredited by the Office of Health Standards Compliance.

- African News Agency (ANA)