Bheki Mlangeni Hospital has been shut down until further notice after a fire broke out in the human resources office of the facility, resulting in 86 patients being evacuated, reports The Star. No one was injured and all the patients were successfully sent to other health facilities in the area when the fire broke out around 8.30am on Monday morning.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital received 23 high care patients and neonates; 12 surgical patients were taken to South Rand Hospital; eight patients to Rahima Moosa Hospital; 30 medical patients to Lenasia South Hospital; while 13 psychiatric patients were taken to Sterkfontein Hospital.
Gauteng Health Department's Lesemang Matuka said they employed a company that will guide them as to when the hospital may open its doors again. “Bheki Mlangeni hospital is currently on divert and we would like to appeal to the healthcare users to utilise surrounding healthcare facilities until further notice,” Matuka said. “The hospital has paused all duties and the building can’t be occupied by the patients and staff members until the smoke has completely cleared,” he added.
Matuka said the cause of the fire was not yet known and full investigations and assessment of the damage will be done by the relevant authorities.
The report says the hospital is one of the “state of the art” healthcare facilities that was opened in 2014 with capacity of 3900 beds catering for the catchment population of about 2m from western and northern Soweto.
The City of Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said no injuries were reported during the incident.
[link url="https://www.iol.co.za/the-star/news/bheki-mlangeni-hospital-shut-down-until-further-notice-after-fire-breaks-out-23670482"]The Star report[/link]