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Patient files and medical waste at abandoned NC hospital

───   16:53 Wed, 19 Sep 2018

Patient files and medical waste at abandoned NC hospital  | News Article

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape has challenged the MEC of Health in the province, Fufe Makatong, to launch an investigation into the relocation of the De Aar Hospital from the old building to the new facility.


This was revealed in a statement the opposition party issued on Wednesday afternoon.

The party alleges in the statement that, during an oversight inspection, it found items that suggested that the move from the old facility to the new one was hurried and unorganised. The party’s provincial spokesperson for health, Isak Fritz, said upon arrival at the site last week, himself, councillors and a representative of the ratepayers association found confidential patient files, x-ray scans scattered across the hospital floors, hundreds of condom packets, hospital gowns as well as medical waste in the form of syringes, finger prick needles and drip bags no longer being used. Fritz further added that not only were these items found but that the hospital was also vandalised. The DA further stated that it would submit a query to the provincial department of Roads and Public Works, which is the custodian of all the state buildings. Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Northern Cape Department of Health, Lebohang Majaha, could not be reached for comment by OFM News.


 The opposition party is challenging MEC Makatong to go and inspect the old building. They say she needs to see for herself what state her department left the building in and she also needs to hold management accountable for what was left behind. The opposition party says this does not only pose a risk to patient confidentiality but is also a health risk and further contributes to wasted resources. I am Pulane Choane, reporting for OFM News in Bloemfontein.

OFM News/Pulane Choane

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