A derelict and vandalised hospital that has stood empty for nearly 30 years is costing the Gauteng Department of Health R750 000 per annum in security guards – money that could have been far better spent on crucial supplies at other struggling, over-stretched facilities, critics have said.
The total outlay of R35m on security guards at the old Kempton Park Hospital, which was apparently closed because it was “under-used”, is more than the R30m it cost to actually build back in the 1970s, reports the Sunday Times.
And despite the expensive security, the building, which was shut down in 1996, has been badly vandalised, its walls covered in graffiti, windows shattered and electrical fittings ripped out. Over the years it has been dubbed the “ghost hospital”.
According to provincial legislature records, the Health Department spent R740 000 annually on security for many years after its closure. Costs hit R2.5m in 2021 and R6m in 2023.
Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba confirmed R5.7m had been paid out for security since May last year.
Fencing was added in 2018 but the grounds are now overrun with weeds and trees.
Health experts say this money could have been put to much better use.
“This is money producing no real value,” said Dr Abietuwa Ohonba, a health economist at the University of Johannesburg. “It represents an opportunity cost. Those millions could have bought beds, linen or life-saving equipment in overstretched hospitals. Every rand wasted is a rand denied to frontline care.”
Professor Debashis Basu, Head of Public Health Medicine at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, said misallocation directly harmed patients.
“The result is delayed diagnoses, longer waiting times, overcrowded wards and increased infection risk. Mortality rises. Health workers are overstretched and patient trust erodes,” Basu said.
Both experts suggested cheaper security such as surveillance cameras, leasing the building or demolishing it.
Modiba said security was “month to month”, and the department spent R482 400 a month on 24 security officers.
When the Sunday Times visited the site, six officers employed by Special Arrow Trade and Projects who were patrolling the premises said they had “strict instructions” not to allow anyone inside without departmental clearance.
“People lost their jobs when the DA councillor came here for an oversight visit,” said one guard.
Though the department says 24 officers are paid, one officer said only 18 were contracted. The company was appointed on 1 July 2024, with its contract extended monthly until a longer-term arrangement is introduced.
Refurb or rebuild
Modiba said the department, with the Gauteng infrastructure finance agency, had advertised an expression of interest to test the market on the hospital’s future. Options included refurbishing, rebuilding and redeveloping the site through private partnerships or alternative funding.
Replying to a question in the provincial legislature, Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said refurbishing the hospital would cost R1.76bn, while demolishing and rebuilding it would cost about R3.6bn.
Three years ago, she had announced that there were plans to re-open it, while in 2018, an announcement that it would be demolished and completely rebuilt was slammed, due to the extensive costs, with experts saying it should rather be renovated.
A R128m investigation into the structural integrity of the hospital had been completed in 2015 and it was found to be sound.
Bed shortage
While the white elephant guzzles money, just 22 minutes away at Tembisa Hospital patients sleep on chairs or the floor due to a chronic bed shortage. At Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria, vital machines lie broken or idle, awaiting repair.
“The system is in collapse,” said Monwabisi Mbasa, Gauteng Chair of the Treatment Action Campaign. “Twenty-six of the province’s 37 hospitals struggle to receive consistent food supplies, suffer regular water cuts and wait endlessly for equipment to be fixed.
“There are 34 000 patients awaiting surgery, some for as long as four years. Many die before their turn comes. We have 3 000 cancer patients on radiation therapy waiting lists, and some have already died,” he said.
Tambo Memorial Hospital has been without a CAT scanner and C-scope machines for two months, forcing patients from several surrounding hospitals to return in November. At Tembisa Tertiary Hospital, psychiatric patients endure “appalling and dehumanising” conditions, Mbasa said.
DA MPL Michael Waters, who inspected the site, said the building is an empty shell, with broken windows, ripped-out electrical outlets, smashed furniture and graffiti on the walls. “It is clear the hospital has been illegally invaded,” he said.
A local resident, Tracy Serfontein, who was once treated at the hospital, said: “It’s heartbreaking… Some wards were never even used before closure. Now rats run about. We’ve seen fires set on the grounds while security looked on. People sneak in to ghost-hunt or play paintball, yet millions are being paid for security.”
TimesLIVE article – WATCH | Millions spent to guard derelict Gauteng hospital (Restricted access)
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