Charlotte Maxeke hospital in Joburg, which was closed after being gutted by fire in April, has now been looted of copper piping worth R30m.
This emerged last week as pressure from health activists, doctors and professors forced the Gauteng health department to open the radiology department to address the backlog of cancer patients needing treatment.
A source close to the hospital, who does not want to be identified, tells the FM the theft of the piping means that some parts of the hospital are without hot water. "Replacing the pipes is an added cost on top of all the other expenses in reopening the hospital," the source says. "It is another hurdle."
During the phased reopening staff also discovered that televisions in the paediatric oncology wards, used to entertain sick children, had been stolen, as had a microwave oven used by staff. All the areas where thefts occurred were being guarded by security staff, several sources say.
This looting is yet another episode in the mismanagement of the hospital’s infrastructure, which was highlighted when the fire broke out on April 16 and emergency personnel discovered that the fire hydrants were not working. The issue, it seems, was that metal couplings had been stolen from the hydrants, rendering them useless.
The 700-bed hospital is a major radiation treatment centre for cancer patients from Gauteng and nearby provinces. Before the fire, it accommodated as many as 150 Covid patients in ordinary wards and a 21-bed ICU run by "intensivists". Usually anaesthetists or pulmonologists, these are specialists who specialise again in the treatment of ICU patients.
Bureaucratic disagreements between the Gauteng government and the City of Joburg meant that even structurally sound parts of the hospital remained closed for two months after the fire. For example, it took the Gauteng department of infrastructure more than a month to appoint contractors to assess the damage and draw up a plan to fix the buildings, according to Business Day.
Last week, beside the radiology department, a ward for newborn babies was reopened, as were part of the neonatal ICU and some maternity wards.
The adult ICUs, however, have been unable to open — which is a significant setback as Gauteng hospitals buckle under pressure from the third wave of Covid.
Last year, medical staff raised funds to upgrade a high-care ward — oxygen equipment and ventilators were donated by the Roy McAlpine Foundation, while 10 beds were added to the 28-bed unit.
The hospital also has a ward to treat patients with suspected Covid, a high-care cardiac ward and ICU facilities for non-Covid patients.
Kwara Kekana, spokesperson for the Gauteng health department, tells the FM efforts to replace the stolen pipes are "at an advanced stage". She declined to say when the latest theft occurred, describing crime as a long-standing problem.
"The hospital has experienced theft of several high-risk items, including the copper pipes and toilet flush pipes, over the years. A decision was taken to replace flush pipes with plastic, which has no resale value," she says.
Kekana says the hospital removed computers and other equipment after the blaze. "The security team and assets management are investigating and reconciling their records on such equipment."
Until this is complete and the hospital knows what might have been stolen, if anything, it is too early to talk about disciplinary action against security staff, she says.
Health activists Section27 and cancer patient group Cancer Alliance welcomed the instruction by Gauteng premier David Makhura to reopen the hospital in phases, pointing out that there was already a waiting list of 1,000 cancer patients needing radiation.
"These delays have [worsened] pre-existing backlogs in radiation oncology care. [The hospital] is the largest provider of radiation oncology in the country, and the only public hospital in Johannesburg to offer these treatments," they said.
"Because of the continued red tape and impediments to opening, this backlog has grown — putting more and more cancer patients’ lives at risk."
Salome Meyer from the Cancer Alliance says it is unlikely the hospital will ever clear the backlog — which dates from before the fire — because of staff and equipment shortages.
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