Repairs to the fire-damaged Tembisa Hospital will cost R14m, according to Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, in response to a question in the Gauteng legislature this week.
SowetanLIVE reports that the South African Pandemic Intervention and Relief Effort (SPIRE) has offered to donate its services to the Department for repairs to the facility, which was extensively damaged by two fires within three days earlier this year.
The first phase of deep cleaning and renovations will be concluded by the end of this month.
The MEC said the first blaze on 19 April in the accident and emergency department (A&E) in a temporary storage area had also damaged other zones in the complex, including the casualty entrance and reception, the trauma hall and resuscitation area, and various offices and services.
A second fire on 23 April in the medical records scanning room had caused damage to patient records and electronic equipment.
The DA in Gauteng has called for efforts to be intensified in restoring services at the hospital, saying other facilities are struggling to cope with the patient overload from the area.
Jack Bloom, shadow Health MEC, said valuable pharmaceutical stock was either destroyed in the fire or smoke- and heat-damaged.
“Among the other losses where 23 wheelchairs, 10 ventilators, a neonatal incubator, intravenous infusion pumps and a file cabinet which had the attendance register for staff in A&E; the patient register, triage books and active patient medical records.”
The source of both fires remains under police investigation, which Bloom said meant much of the damage would be repaired only by June 2026.
“We need to know if the fires were caused by arson, and if so, who did it and for what motive,” he added.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Possible arson to be probed in Tembisa hospital fires
Two fires in three days at Tembisa Hospital
No fire clearance certificates, floor plans, at Gauteng hospitals