Burst pipes and extensive water damage after flooding at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital a week ago have led to the scrapping of elective surgery schedules, with incomplete repairs stalling operations and creating an even greater backlog of patients.
Despite nine theatres being out of commission, the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure & Development’s contractors haven’t been able to finish the job yet, reports Daily Maverick.
The crisis was triggered on 12 July, with water interruptions from Rand Water's extensive maintenance shutdown. Bara has two separate water feeds; it was meant to shield the critical health facility from the worst effects of the city’s widespread shutdown that was scheduled for 58 hours of downtime.
But by Wednesday night, all of the pipes ran dry, with staff being told the high stages of load shedding had caused pumps to fail.
With no running water available, elective surgeries had to be cancelled on Thursday.
On Friday, when the water supply returned, pressure on the ageing system cracked the pipe joints, flooding theatres. Elective surgeries were again postponed, and thus far, there have been no progress updates from the provincial government.
Emergency surgeries in theatres in a newer part of the hospital and in gynaecology and obstetrics theatres, as well as the eye hospital, have been unaffected. But the knock-on effects are clearly visible.
One hospital source said the contractor who arrived managed to fix one section of the pipes, only for other pipes to burst elsewhere.
“Then they said they didn’t have the equipment or the skills to do the job. Now a second contractor has been brought in, but we still don’t know when the theatres will be operational again.”
One doctor said they were relying on sterile surgical packs from other facilities as the water interruptions made it impossible to sterilise surgical instruments.
“Elective surgeries can be cancer surgeries, vascular surgeries or orthopaedic surgeries. Some of these people have been waiting for months or even years for their operations, so the backlog just keeps growing.
“There was a catch-up schedule for surgery on the Saturday, but that was also cancelled because contractors couldn’t finish their work.”
He added: “The only thing the politicians seem to care about is when they come here for photo opportunities.”
Hospital CEO Dr Nkele Lesia said with nine theatres out of use, 20 surgeries a day are being added to their backlog list.
She said the lack of progress from the Department of Infrastructure & Development’s contractors more than a week later has been “very frustrating … affecting patients and putting us under a lot of pressure”.
“I don’t know why the contractors can’t fix this problem. I also don’t know about the quality of the service providers appointed by (the departmetn). I don’t know if the job is just too big for them …,” she said.
The incompetence of the contractors was eroding her already squeezed annual maintenance budget, she added, about R60m of about R5.4bn. The bulk of the budget goes towards salaries. After emergencies like burst pipes and flooding, new projects have to be put on hold.
“The hospital is old and there’s always a lot of repair work … the money is never enough. But if the contractor chosen by the GDID (over which the hospital has no control, but must pay for) cannot do the job, then they are eating into our budget.”
Lesia ends her term as CEO at the end of the month, another looming concern for staff who fear this key position will be left vacant or filled by someone who only holds the post in an extended acting capacity.
Questions sent to the Gauteng Department of Infrastructure & Development, Gauteng Department of Health and the Office of the Premier were not answered.
They included details of the contractors appointed; why they have not been able to carry out the repair work competently; the timeframes and costs for the repair work; and what contingencies have been put in place to catch up on surgery backlogs.
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Backlog of 7,000 surgery patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath
Gauteng Premier’s Office admits ‘possible corruption’ in Charlotte Maxeke repairs