Residents of Christiana in the North West are calling on the provincial Health authorities to speed up the rebuilding of the local hospital. The 50-bed Christiana District Hospital was gutted by fire in September. No one was injured.
Following the incident, residents were forced to use the local clinic and patients are being referred to hospitals in Vryburg, Taung and Schweizer-Reneke.
Only rubble remains of the Christiana District Hospital. The 50-bed facility provided health services to the Lekwa Teemane Local Municipality’s more than 50 000 residents. Health authorities say R100-million had been set aside for the initial upgrade of the hospital, which began last year.
Construction work of around R80-million had already been done.
Investigations indicated it was caused by human error but now the locals are frustrated as they struggle to access health services.
“Even if they can give us the mobile for the meantime. Because, let me say we are tired to go to the clinic because the service we get there, is not the same as the service we get at the hospital one,” says a resident.
“I worry about going to labour because there are no doctors at the clinic. I would need to go as far as Vryburg. Even the treatment, we don’t get our treatment in time. The clinic can not afford us. Patients are not assisted on time because it’s always full,” says another resident.
In the meantime, the provincial health authorities have deployed hospital staff to other health facilities but the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are still operating from the damaged hospital premises.
“Currently EMS is still based at the hospital in a little small area with no running water. If the contractors can just speedify the restoration of water. We have been working all along. We have been carrying water with buckets,” says Emelda Bekeer, Lekwa Teemane EMS Manager.
Speaker of the Municipality Mpho Pilane says the fire has impacted negatively on local communities.
“We were only a few weeks before we do the official opening actually of the hospital. A fully flashed hospital. That some of us were saying actually it’s a private clinic because of its standard. Now when the dark cloud fell upon us it created a serious crisis for us,” says Pilane.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health has received 41 new ambulances, to service the province. FNB has also donated some medical equipment to the Christiana Hospital.
Health MEC Madoda Sambatha says a temporary structure will soon be set up, to bring health services nearer to people. The health authorities say they are hoping to re-open the Christiana District Hospital by the end of 2022.
