Johannesburg - GAUTENG Premier David Makhura says the province cannot afford to have the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) closed in winter during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The premier said the negative impact of the fire that engulfed the CMJAH in April, did not only affect one hospital in the province but many.
The blaze saw over R40 million worth of stock, largely personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essentials burnt.
“The pressure is quite severe. There is an increases in Covid-19 admissions and the other facilities would want CMJAH in operation as of yesterday because they were also referring there,” the premier said.
Speaking at the Gauteng Provincial Command Council media briefing on Friday, Makhura said that CMJAH occupies the apex of public health-care institutions in Gauteng and that the hospital in Parktown offered specialised services that are only offered there.
“The Gauteng province cannot afford to have the CMJAH closed in the middle of a pandemic that is raging,” the premier said.
Makhura said that the Gauteng provincial government with the Gauteng departments of Health and Infrastructure Development and Property Management, have been working tirelessly to ensure that the hospital was reopened safely.
“The pace of the pandemic and the impact of the pandemic in other institutions can only be tackled decisively, we can only respond decisively to where we are in the pandemic with a functioning CMJAH,” the premier said.
He added that there were now clinical risks, the longer the hospital doors remain closed.
“The sooner CMJAH is reopened, the better for our response to Covid-19 but also for other non-Covid-19 related burdens of disease including cancer,” Makhura added.
Last week, the Gauteng Department of Health announced that the oncology unit of the hospital would be reopened following numerous complaints from cancer patients regarding their medication.
“We will start with the oncology block but it will not be enough because there are not only oncology patients. There are neonatal patients from CMJAH at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and other hospitals. CMJAH also has critical ICUs that have been in the forefront in the admission and treatment of Covid-19 patients,” Makhura said.
Makhura added that the provincial government was exploring whether or not to declare a national disaster at the hospital.
Gauteng Health's head of Infrastructure Development Dr Sifiso Maseko said the department had serious engagements with the City of Joburg to ensure that new regulations, that did not apply when the hospital facility was built, complied now.
MEC for Infrastructure Development and Property Management Tasneem Motara explained that the bigger part of the hospital, excluding the oncology unit, was built when the provincial and national government did not have to submit building plans to municipalities.
“The municipality requires that the building is 100% compliant in today’s regulations and standards. We are still committed to giving the municipality a fully compliant building with the understanding that we do need to occupy it because of the services that are required,” Motara said.
Maseko added that not all the oncology services would be reopened at the hospital but the department was also looking at bringing in other critical services such as maternal services.
“We must emphasise that through the intervention and leadership from the office of the premier, there is co-operation and working together. All of us feel that we need to make sure that the facility is opened but in a safe manner,” he said.
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The Star