- Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital was closed after a fire damaged it in April.
- The SAHRC conducted a site inspection at the facility on Tuesday.
- Propping is currently underway at the block that was affected by fire.
Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital expects to open its oncology ward this week, Gauteng acting Director-General Thabo Masebe said on Tuesday.
The hospital was closed after fire engulfed structures of its dispensary department.
Masebe was speaking at the hospital following a meeting with the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Gauteng Department of Health and the Department of Infrastructure Development.
SAHRC Gauteng manager Buang Jones said the commission had embarked on the visit to establish what had caused the fire that broke out at the facility in April.
Jones said the commission also wanted to establish the extent of the fire damage, and what the hospital, through the department, was doing to get it up and running again.
He added that they were "quite happy" with the work done at the facility.
Outlining the province's response since 16 April when the fire started, Masebe said that when the hospital was shut down on the 17 April, it was thought that it would reopen after seven days, but it couldn't due to the extent of the damage.
He said they had established that more time would be needed to restore services, after an assessment of the damage to the building where the fire started, and how the fire had affected other parts of the hospital.
"Smoke did travel to other parts of the hospital and as part of bringing it [back into working order], we needed to attend to all those issues and of course all regulatory issues, including compliance with the national building regulations, as well as the by-laws of the City of Johannesburg.
"We have been attending to all of that work, but the good news is that a portion of the hospital, especially the building that serves the oncology services, will now be able to open," Masebe said.
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He added that work on the nncology block was expected to be completed in the coming days, and once approved by the City of Johannesburg, the building would open by the end of the week.
Masebe added that work on other blocks that were safe to use would also get under way from next week.
"Obviously, we will do all of this working together with the municipality, but the determination of the provincial government is that this hospital needs to get back to service, but it must get back on condition that it is safe for both patients and staff, as well as the rest of the public who use the services of this hospital," he said.
The hospital would open in a phased manner as parts of it were determined safe. Blocks that were less affected by the fire were being dealt with first, Masebe said.
The hospital is not operating and only the the admin block is opened and preparing for the opening of the oncology building, subject to approvals.
'Propping'
Infrastructure development department head Thulani Mdadane said more than 23 contractors and specialists had been commissioned to work at the facility.
He said one team was propping up the building.
"[The] propping exercise means that in block 3 and block 4 north, [those] were the areas that were highly and severely affected, and those areas had to be cordoned off and barricaded to ensure there is no interference," Mdadane said.
He added that the "propping" would allow the SAPS forensic services to examine what had caused the fire, what was not working, and whether there had been any "human and non-human interference, the HOD said.
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"Based on that forensic report, we will include the testing of whatever that we found on site, hence it has been barricaded. Once that has been done, then the department of infrastructure, jointly with the department of health, will then proceed with the construction and do a corrective work, in terms of what needs to be done."
Mdadane said that the department believed that, before things could get back to normal, they had to check for structural soundness and determine whether the structures were affected.
"If then the structures were affected, it might need upgrading and reaffirming the structure (the beams). If not, we might also need to look at the worst scenario, which might include demolition of one or two beams to ensure those beams that are on the basement structurally align with affirming the other buildings on top of it," Mdadane said.