Dead hospital can be revived
ANOMALY: PROBE FINDS IT IS STRUCTURALLY SOUND
Probe finds abandoned Kempton Park Hospital is structurally sound and should not be demolished.
Engineers recommend building be refurbished and reopened – Democratic Alliance.
The finding that the long-abandoned Kempton Park Hospital’s structure is technically sound has prompted questions about plans to demolish it at a cost of R127 million.
It had previously been claimed that the hospital needed to be demolished and rebuilt.
The investigation into the structural integrity of the hospital was completed in 2015.
“The investigation was conducted
on behalf of the department of health by AMCE Consulting Engineers at a cost of R12.8 million,” said Democratic Alliance member of the provincial legislature and DA Tembisa constituency head Refiloe Nt’sekhe.
“No major structural problems were found and it was recommended that the hospital be refurbished and opened as a district hospital. The estimated cost is R1.1 billion for the refurbishment,” she said.
The hospital was opened in 1978 and it was expected to have a lifespan of 100 years.
“This was revealed to me by the MEC for infrastructure development, Tasneem Motara, in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng legislature.
“This contradicts previous replies indicating the hospital would be demolished and rebuilt. This was put on hold by the Gauteng department of health due to lack of funds,” said Nt’sekhe.
“In a previous reply, the department indicated it had spent over R6.9 million on security guards at this unused and abandoned hospital.
Furthermore, the department of health previously indicated the hospital would be demolished at a cost of R127 million.
“Given these contradictions, the department of health needs to give the people of Kempton Park a concrete answer on the plans for this hospital.”
Kempton Park Hospital closed its doors 23 years ago, in 1996.
The provincial health department did not respond to questions on what had informed the initial decision to demolish the hospital and whether the budget for the demolition would now be used to reopen it.