A FULL month after a massive storm lashed Durban, causing extensive damage to infrastructure, nothing has been done to fix the damage at Addington Hospital, the DA has claimed.
DA MPL and spokesperson on Health, Imran Keeka, toured the hospital for the first time on Tuesday following a storm almost a month ago. Addington was one of the hardest hit medical facilities in the province, with the storm causing significant damage.
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The department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) recently held a fundraiser breakfast calling on the private sector to assist the government in repairing some of the damage caused by the storm
It is estimated that the damage to hospitals, homes and infrastructure exceeded R1 billion.
“It will cost about R6.2 million to fix some of the damage. We know that this hospital had historic damage caused by poor maintenance and it will cost about R150m to repair that,” said Keeka.
“There has been damage to the roof of the hospital, to the condemned building behind the hospital and to the windows.”
Keeka said the storm had left about R110m worth of damage to health infrastructure across the province, a figure which could still be revised upwards. “We know that in eThekwini alone, there are about 109 clinics and we are still waiting for a report on their damage,” he said.
The department was contacted for comment but responded with a statement that was issued by the provincial government after the storm. It stated that the affected healthcare facilities were receiving attention and patients had been moved to safety.
