Centre ‘needs shot in arm’

The DA Gauteng shadow MEC for health, Jack Bloom, pictured, Tshwane MPL Zweli Khumalo and Mohammed Essop visited Laudium Community Health Centre yesterday after they received numerous complaints about the facility.

The facility was originally opened as a hospital in 1982 and was downgraded to a community health centre in 1998.

According to the clinic management, the clinic supplies its services to a wide population of 356 000, including patients from Laudium, Valhalla, Claudius, Erasmia, Lyttelton, Olievenhoutbosch, Mooiplaas, Itireleng, Atteridgeville and Diepsloot in Johannesburg.

Management told Bloom that close to half of the patients were foreign nationals without any papers.

Many complaints about the facility were about the maternity and other sections being overcrowded. Patients were found crowded into small rooms or corridors without proper ventilation, which increased the risk of cross-infection.

Bloom said some parts of the building were in a severe state of disrepair, including a gaping hole in the ceiling of the maternity section.

“The chronic diseases section has been upgraded and will open in April this year,” he said.

He added that they were told that the maternity and medical-legal sections would be upgraded by the same contractor, but no timeline was given.

Bloom said the clinic was run by the Gauteng health department but maintenance and repairs were done by the Gauteng department of infrastructure development, resulting in a delay for minor repairs.

He also added that the grass needed to be cut as snakes and rats had been spotted.

“Lights in corridors were broken and I was told that the tractor that cut the grass has been broken for five years,” said Bloom.

He said he would push the provincial departments to meet their commitments to upgrade the clinic to meet the needs of an increased population.

He also stated that the clinic management should also be given control of maintenance and repairs.

“This will be more efficient than the present system where requests are put through to another department,” he said.