Press Statement dated 8 June 2018
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is appealing to Western Cape Provincial Health authorities to prioritize the completion of contingent facilities before closing down Tygerberg Hospital.
FEDUSA’s appeal comes after Western Cape Health Department Head Beth Engelbrecht told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health that Tygerberg – which is Western Cape’s biggest hospital - is rundown and in a state of general disrepair and needs to be shut down.
“Tygerberg Hospital is under severe pressure. The CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) assessed it and said the hospital must be replaced. We have spent R700 million just on maintenance in recent years and you walk through the hospital and you can’t see it - it is sewerage lines, gas lines and water lines,” Engelbrecht told the Committee.
“Another problem we are dealing with at Tygerberg Hospital is very old infrastructure. The waiting times are also very long”.
However FEDUSA community members will be left stranded should the closure go ahead without first completing alternative facilities.
“The health sector is under severe strain with the number of patients increasing on a daily basis. It does not make sense to close down Tygerberg without first completing the temporal facilities,” said FEDUSA Deputy General Secretary Riefdah Ajam.
“Tygerberg is also a specialist facility that is needed not only for local patients but also for rural patients from the Northern Cape and from other towns such as George, Beaufort West, Vredendal and Overberg. For Tygerberg to be rebuilt, temporary accommodation should be established for specialized care such as burns unit because the province cannot afford to be without specialized treatment facilities”.
Issued by Riefdah Ajam, Deputy General Secretary, Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA)