New hospital for Elim at last

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05-12-2024
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Ground Up
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But no date has been set by the Department of Health and the old hospital is crumbling

The crumbling Elim Hospital in Limpopo is to be rebuilt, the national Department of Health has said. Spokesperson Foster Mohale said the construction of a new hospital will be managed by the national department on behalf of the Limpopo health department.

“Once all necessary approvals including budget, have been granted, the new hospital will be a greenfields project, meaning it will be built entirely on a new site, with minimal reliance on existing infrastructure,” said Mohale.

But Mohale did not provide a date for when construction would begin.

Limpopo Department of Health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said that although “regular maintenance” is conducted on the existing hospital, it would be difficult to justify investing millions of rands when a new building has been planned.

The hospital, one of Limpopo’s oldest, has been battling with maintenance issues. Walls are cracked. Many toilets must be flushed by bucket. Last month we reported that the hospital had been without a reliable X-ray machine for over a year. The mortuary cooling plant is not functioning properly and GroundUp has learned that families were recently called to claim their dead because the bodies were decomposing.

Shikwambana said technicians were on site repairing the chiller plant, “which struggles in the hot summer temperatures”, and that the mortuary is now operational.

Since 2019, the hospital has faced persistent water shortages after its boreholes dried up. A new borehole has failed to meet demand. The hospital relies on water tankers from Vhembe District Municipality.

When we visited the hospital at the end of last month, we found patients waiting for hours to collect their files before joining another long queue to see a doctor. The hospital’s 100-metre corridor was packed with patients awaiting assistance, seated back-to-back on benches.

“The decaying buildings and unbearable bathroom conditions are also a concern. While we await a new hospital, we’re losing hope,” said resident Kanelani Manganyi.

Lawrence Muvhango, Limpopo organisational officer for the Public Servants Association, blamed poor servicing for the malfunctioning mortuary cooling plant. He called for an investigation of those responsible.

In April, residents and members of the Elim to Shirley Community Development and Service Delivery Forum volunteered to clean the hospital.

“The worsening conditions are affecting patient care. Even the beds are in poor condition, and the linen is old,” said forum deputy chairperson Nelson Mabobo. “The government has promised to rebuild the hospital for years, yet nothing has changed. We hope this time they follow through.”

He stressed that existing wards need to be maintained in the meantime.