A general view of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg.
Sydney Seshibedi, Gallo Images
- Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and her deputy Kholeka Gcaleka will inspect Gauteng hospitals this week.
- They will look at the capacity of the facilities and whether frontline workers have sufficient personal protective equipment, among other things.
- Earlier this month, Gcaleka inspected healthcare facilities in the Eastern Cape.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and her deputy Kholeka Gcaleka will turn their focus on inspecting Gauteng hospitals this week.
Mkhwebane and Gcaleka were scheduled to visit Lillian Ngoyi and Chris Hani Baragwanath in Soweto, Charlotte Maxeke Academic in Johannesburg – Jubilee and George Mukhari hospitals in Hammanskraal and Ga-Rankuwa respectively, spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said in a statement.
They would also be joined by investigators from the Gauteng office to examine the infrastructure that had been developed, specifically for the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Segalwe said Mkhwebane and Gcaleka would also look closely at the capacity of the facilities and to establish if the facilities were coping with demand for services as well as whether frontline workers had sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).
READ | Hospital hell: Deputy public protector finds Eastern Cape facilities in shocking state
“In recent weeks, the provincial government’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus have been marred by allegations of tender irregularities in respect of the procurement of PPE.
“This prompted the Gauteng office of the Public Protector to launch an own-initiative investigation into the matter,” Segalwe said.
In preventing our health facilities from being overwhelmed, the nationwide lockdown has allowed our healthcare system to respond to the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19. #COVID19SA pic.twitter.com/pKfneDPWTw
— Presidency | South Africa ???? (@PresidencyZA) August 15, 2020
Earlier this month, Gcaleka and a team of investigators inspected Uitenhage, Livingstone, Mthatha General and Nessie Knight hospitals in the Eastern Cape.
“They came across an assortment of challenges, which appeared to be undermining the provision of healthcare services,” he said.
They planned to visit Jubilee and George Mukhari hospitals on Tuesday; Lillian Ngoyi and Chris Hani Baragwanath on Wednesday; Steve Biko Academic Hospital and Charlotte Maxeke Academic in Johannesburg on Thursday.
