Hospital staff say water was cut for days

CECILIA Makiwane Hospital in East London was without water for several days – and neither the cause nor when it would be restored was communicated with staff.

Three hospital staff members, who asked to remain anonymous, said they did not know why the water from the hospital reservoir had not been used.

“There is no water in the entire hospital and for some reason we are not using water from the reservoirs,” one staff member said.

Another staff member, who works at the hospital’s pharmacy, said people were buying water or bringing it from home.

“We do not use a lot of water in the pharmacy department but because the entire hospital does not have water I do not know how other areas like the theatre are functioning,” he said.

“There is no water even in the nurses’ residence or the doctors’ quarters and we are not being told when the water will be restored.

On Wednesday, CMH CEO Dr Mthandeki Xhamlashe said the hospital did have water.

“If there is a disruption it must be due to maintenance. They must have cut the supply to fix a leaking or burst pipe. We cannot run a hospital without water and currently the hospital is running fine with no disruptions.

“Should there be a water problem . . . we have three large reservoirs on site that can sustain us running fully for two weeks,” he said.

When the Dispatch arrived at the hospital on Wednesday staff members said there was no water for a few hours but it had been restored.

There was running water at the time of the Dispatch visit.

Provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said: “There was a burst pipe outside the hospital and it was a municipal problem. When they fixed it, the pressure burst a pipe in the hospital. “It was only for two days. It has been fixed. “It did not affect essential clinical services like the theatre and casualty.”

Amatola Water could not be reached for comment at the time of writing. — co.za