Hospital lifts still not repaired months down the line
NINE out 13 lifts were reported broken at Helen Joseph Hospital in Joburg in October last year. They still are. As of yesterday, according to DA MPL Jack Bloom, the number of lifts not working at the hospital was unchanged.
“I visited the hospital on Friday and found that no action has been taken to fix these lifts since I reported them in October. This causes major incon- venience to staff and patients,” Bloom said.
The problem appeared to be non-payment to suppliers, and this was “unacceptable”.
Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development Qedani Mahlangu acknowledged there was a problem, saying the department – which is in charge of the maintenance and constructions of the province’s hospitals and schools – had commissioned new lifts for the hospital.
In 2012, the department announced that it would be focusing on education and health infrastructure upgrades, by allocating about R450 million for the renewal of electro-mechanical and plant equipment such as boilers, generators, lifts and laundries
‘This causes major inconvenience to staff and patients’
in hospitals such as Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic, George Mukhari, Jubilee and Helen Joseph.
The department also tabled its maintenance plan in 2012 for nurses’ homes, doctors’ quarters, maternity wards and casualty areas in hospitals around the province, in addition to 318 education projects planned.
The department defended itself yesterday, stating the ways it had progressed in resolving the issue of faulty lifts at Helen Joseph.
While Bloom called for lift maintenance at Helen Joseph to fall directly under hospital management, rather than “the grossly incompetent” Infrastructure Department, the department’s spokeswoman, Ramona Baijnath, said five of the lifts were to be replaced.
“The lifts are being replaced at a cost of R3 170 900. Thus far, R2 791 900 has been paid to the suppliers, and the lifts will be completed by the end of January,” she said.
The suppliers, Affirmative Lifts, had been paid for the installation of the lifts. However, Baijnath added, all payments correlated with the work completed.
Eighty percent of the payment had been made and the rest would be paid on completion.
The department’s “24/7/365” turnaround strategy programme had identified 91 lifts across the province to be fixed in the first phase of repairs, as they were a priority.
According to Baijnath, 61 of those lifts had been installed and the remaining 30 were in the process of installation
The main aim of the strategy has been to enable the department and its workers to resolve minor breakdowns within two hours, major breakdowns within seven days and major refurbishment in a period not exceeding a year.