An infestation of rodents and cockroaches has patients at Polokwane Provincial Hospital in Limpopo – and their families – worried about their exposure to hospital-acquired infections, with some even too afraid to eat the food.
The EFF has threatened to storm the hospital to “do pest control ourselves”, expressing concern about the risk of patients contracting nosocomial infections.
“Patients get admitted, only to become worse. This is why health facilities in Limpopo are referred to as hospitals of death,” it said.
News24 reports that the provincial Health Department has confirmed the increase in pests, while hospital staff said they could do nothing except wait for the authorities to resolve the issue.
Provincial health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said the environmental unit was investigating the cause of the infestation and preparing to fumigate.
Meanwhile, the department has denied it has to return unspent grants of more than R71m to the National Treasury.
Shikwambana said the actual unspent amount was R46.7m, which the department used to buy machinery and equipment for cancer treatment.
“But, because by the end of the financial year the machine had not yet been delivered, the department could not pay the company because that would amount to irregular expenditure,” he said.
The department had requested that the amount be rolled over until the service provider delivers the machine.
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