Mmametlhake Hospital, in Mpumalanga, which serves over 250 000 residents, is struggling to provide adequate healthcare services to the locals due to water shortages.
Image: X / MpuHealth1
The Department of Health in Mpumalanga has attributed the 20-day water shortage at Mmametlhake Hospital to a broken water pump, which disrupted healthcare services and forced workers to down tools due to the insufficient water supply.
The hospital, located in the Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality, serves a population of 254,331.
Opened in May 2024, the hospital has failed to meet its promise of providing accessible healthcare to scores of community members.
The Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) has expressed deep concern over the situation, labelling the water shortage a violation of human rights.
“A consistent water supply is essential for infection control and the proper implementation of acceptable health practices,” the association said in a statement.
“The lack of water in this facility poses a serious risk to the health and safety of both patients and staff,” added the PSA.
The PSA has criticised the department for compromising the health and safety of the staff and patients, and voiced concerns over the lack of urgency in resolving the issue.
Meanwhile, Build One South Africa (BOSA) has called on MEC for Health in Mpumalanga, Sasekani Manzini, to urgently intervene following a general strike by healthcare workers at the hospital.
BOSA’s acting spokesperson, Roger Solomons, stated that the strike was prompted by poor conditions, including the water shortage and blocked, unhygienic toilets.
“It is unacceptable that the government's failure to address basic infrastructure issues has forced healthcare workers into this desperate situation, and it is the community that ultimately bears the brunt,” he said.
Solomons said the party urges Manzini to take action on the issue to ensure that the lives of patients and the well-being of staff are prioritised.
“Further inaction will only exacerbate the suffering and erode public trust in the healthcare system,” Solomons added.
In response to IOL News questions, the departmental spokesperson Dumisani Malamule acknowledged the water shortage, explaining that the hospital was not receiving water from the local municipality.
To address this, Malamule said the department has installed five boreholes to supply water to the hospital, but the water pumps broke during a critical period when most service providers were closed.
This led to a water shortage in the hospital for 20 days, impacting the healthcare workers and locals to get healthcare services.
However, he confirmed that all the water pumps at the hospital have been replaced with new ones.
“However, a new problem was identified that there was now a leak as water from the reservoir does not reach the wards,” he said.
He added that the healthcare workers raised their concern about the problem, but through a meeting, the management explained steps being taken to address the issue.
Malamule refuted BOSA’s claims that there is no electricity and poor conditions at the hospital.
“As management, we are not aware of that report as the hospital has two backups for electricity, the generator, and the solar system. The hospital is still new as it officially opened last year, 2024,” Malamule told IOL News.
He said the department does not plan to address the issues, calling the allegations “unfounded.”
Malamule said the department has procured water tanks to ensure that the community has access to healthcare services.
“The community does access the services because the department also procured Jojo tanks that are placed at strategic points, to supply water and are being filled with water through municipality water tankers and our own water tanker to ensure that water is available to wards,” Malamule added.
IOL News