Hospital structures collapse as LTC snoozes on job
Tumelo Mouwane | Thursday September 21, 2017 15:49
Boswelatlou ward councillor summed up the mood of the councillors during a recent full council meeting when he asked whether people should wait for an accdet to happen within the premises of the hospital.
“Are we waiting for accidents to happen within the hospital before we attend such?” Themba Stimela queried, obviously under pressure from his constituents.
Athlone Hospital is currently a place of unusable roads, malfunctioning or faulty electrical equipment and other maladies. The area councillor, Setimela has cried his voice hoarse trying to push Lobatse Town Council to quickly remedy the dire situation.
During a full council meeting yesterday, town mayor Malebogo Kruger admitted that the hospital needs urgently attend to basic equipment for its daily operation pending commencement of a projected P3million face-lift.
For years, internal roads within the 300-bed facility have been unusable due to potholes the sizes of craters on the moon where meteorites had landed.
Patients, perhaps during recent wintry season, reportedly showered with cold water due to a faulty boiler, whilst some rooms would go for days without light due to faulty electrical cables and worn-out bulbs. As for linen, their condition is a reverse to the adage ‘from rags to riches’, as in their case it is riches to rags.
And despite Stimela’s voice rising to deafening decibels on numerous occasions, the LTC would not immediately attend to the glitches at the hospital.
“Athlone Hospital should be attended to as soon as possible. As we speak all vehicles use one side of the road including emergency ambulances since the other part of the road is completely worn off. Are we waiting for accidents to happen within the hospital before we attend such?” Stimela appealed for the umpteenth time. In her speech to the full council on Tuesday, Kruger however said there was progress in terms of attending major faults at the hospital needing immediate attention. She said progress is notable, especially that the Health ministry has assumed responsibility for maintenance. “The Ministry of Health has taken a bold step to put in place call centres in different districts, including Lobatse District Health Management Team, to be responsible for maintenance of health facilities. As a result, some of the works still under consideration are maintenance of internal road, lighting and electrical connections at the hospital,” Kruger said.
The mayor however said the a theatre plant has been attended to it is functioning.