- The health department had promised that the casualty unit at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital would be operational by the end of April.
- The unit was still closed.
- Instead, the department says it will make an announcement by Friday.
Promises that the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital would be reopened by the end of April have come to nought.
The hospital was gutted by a fire more than a year ago.
Last month, Health Minister Joe Phaahla promised that repairs at the hospital's casualty department would be completed by the last week of April. That did not happen.
Instead, on Tuesday, his spokesperson, Foster Mohale, said the national and provincial health departments would make an announcement on the opening of the unit by Friday.
The DA's health spokesperson, Jack Bloom, said he was tired of the government's empty promises. He said the continued closure of the emergency unit was "causing huge distress to staff and patients at other hospitals that cannot cope with the flood of extra patients".
Bloom said:
The national health department took over the repairs of the hospital in an effort to speed it up.
Phaahla said block 1 of the hospital was expected to be fully functional by March 2023 and blocks 4 and 5 by November 2023. The hospital was originally expected to be completed in 2027.
Bloom said the continued closure of Charlotte Maxeke hospital placed a huge burden on other hospitals.
"The Helen Joseph Hospital's casualty department is overwhelmed with patients who are squeezed into corridors and sit in chairs for long periods before being admitted to wards. The time for excuses is over. Private sector expertise should be optimally used to reopen [Charlotte Maxeke hospital's casualty department] as soon as possible and fix up the rest of the hospital as well."
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