KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane. | Supplied
In the heart of eThekwini Municipality, a water crisis is unfolding, impacting not only the daily lives of residents but also the operations of local hospitals.
As officials work to address the dire situation, the health sector is implementing emergency measures to ensure that patient care remains a top priority.
eThekwini Municipality water and sanitation acting head Msizi Shabalala said their challenges started when the water curtailment was implemented, which affected most of their reservoirs.
“As a result, it has also impacted the hospital, which has caused the hospital to have a shortage of water, especially since it is in a high-level zone. But we have prioritised the hospital just to ensure that there are no lives that are lost due to the water shortage,” Shabalala said.
He said the hospital has been provided with 10 water tankers and would daily supply the hospital with water.
“Our team is searching on the line if there are any possible water leaks which may also have an impact on the supply,” Shabalala said.
He added that they are working alongside the Department of Health just to ensure that everyone is well-informed about what is currently happening.
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane said according to the hospital CEO, two weeks before February 3, the hospital experienced frequent water-shedding. However, from February 3 to date, it was without water and needed to come up with alternatives.
Simelane said rumours that linen at the hospital is dirty, toilets are not flushed, and there are flies everywhere, were untrue.
She said the hospital’s water network is linked to the municipality, so when the community is facing water challenges, the hospital also faces such challenges.
“We discovered this problem during the floods, and as a department, we did back then put some contingency plans in place, and one of those plans was to make sure that we have reservoirs that are available within the hospital, and we do have those reservoirs,” Simelane explained.
Additionally, they added JoJo tanks around the hospital for patients who can walk, to get water from the tanks.
“But we’ve also made an arrangement with one of the service providers who work within the department and who’s responsible for cleaning our grounds to pour water and take it to the clinical service points. There is someone besides the patients who get water into our wards so that patients are able to get water or access water without having to walk very, very far,” Simelane said.
She said a plan is in place where a maternity ward, in particular, is linked to the different JoJo tanks, and they can access the water. They can flush and can get drinking water.
Simelane said water provided by Gift of the Givers is used for drinking by patients, so no one is drinking dirty water.
She said the department provided 30 portable toilets within the vicinity so patients who can walk can use those toilets.
“We do have a challenge when it comes to water, but contingency plans are there, and we are dealing with that,” Simelane said.
“We as a department are also not just sitting and waiting for the municipality to solve our problems.
“Unfortunately, the impact of this unavailability of water is very serious in the hospital. We have had to stop some planned elective surgeries because of that. Out of seven theatres as a department, we are currently operating five theatres so that we still have some operations or some operations that have been planned,” Simelane said.
She added that in 2024, they commissioned four boreholes ready to function. However, they are waiting for a water filter to arrive on Saturday.
thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za