The 41 health facilities, which includes 29 hospitals and 12 primary healthcare facilities, were revealed by the Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla in his response to the Member of the National Assembly, Magdalena Duduzile Hlengwa. She had asked for the number of state hospitals and clinics which require infrastructure upgrading and maintenance of existing infrastructure. The minister’s answer is based on the information sourced from the User Asset Management Plan (U-AMP), which reflects the condition of the health facilities in the country. “This followed the development of the Infrastructure Programme Implementation Plan (IPMP), which is a three-year costed plan that indicates how these facilities will be attended to, to bring them back to an acceptable standard,” reads the reply.

ALSO READ: Eastern Free State clinic reopens

Of the 265 hospitals in need of infrastructure attention, 14 are in the Northern Cape while 21 are in the North West. According to U-AMP, there is also 1903 primary healthcare facilities in South Africa that need upgrading, with 71 in the Northern Cape and 218 in the North West. The Free State happens to be the province with the least primary healthcare facilities that need upgrading out of the nine provinces. The reply also states that it should be noted that all active healthcare facilities are budgeted for (maintenance and repair) in every financial year through the Equitable Share and Hospital Revitalisation Grant.

ALSO READ: Pelonomi’s refurbishment well under way

In the Free State, multiple renovation projects are taking place at the province’s foremost trauma hospital, the Pelonomi Hospital, to ensure service delivery runs smoothly. One of the projects in question includes renovating the maternity ward, which has been in the spotlight for some time. 

The spokesperson for the Provincial Department of Health, Mondli Mvambi, previously said a service provider has been appointed to complete the maternity ward project. The project includes maternity theatres and a neonatal unit, and its ICU. The chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Bongani Majola, said in July 2022 the project is set to be completed within 18 months. The maternity ward has been under construction for almost a decade under different service providers. 

The reconstruction of the maternity ward being on halt was previously a thorny issue at the hospital, as there were allegedly only four theatre beds being shared between the surgical and maternity ward. The latter’s theatre forms part of the unfinished maternity ward, hence the sharing of beds. Earlier in the year, surgeries at the maternity ward were negatively affected as it flooded due to leaking pipes. Patients were then reported to have been placed in the corridors.  

ALSO READ - UPDATE: Hospital repairs water pipes after complaints on social media

Still in the Free State, in the latest, the Department of Health has had to act swiftly with repairing the water pipe bursts at the Boitumelo Hospital in Kroonstad. The hospital's sister in charge at Casualties, Matsie Mofokeng, expressed her gratitude to the department’s technical team for assisting and making sure water is restored at the hospital. “We did not have water for the past two days, however, as of now, we do - all thanks to the department’s technical team that worked tirelessly.” 

Mvambi explained that the hospital has had to deal with two different pipe bursts since Saturday 29 October 2022. This was after they became aware of the first pipe burst through social media posts where people were complaining about the lack of water in the hospital. Even with the pipe bursts that have happened, Mvambi stated that patients were supplied with water manually for toilets, bathing and drinking water for their medication. "The inconvenience caused by the burst pipe is regrettable, but the department is on top of the situation and services have not been terminated."

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