Human Rights Commission ‘happy’ with interventions at Tembisa Hospital
The South African Human Rights Commission says its happy with the interventions put in place by Tembisa Hospital following the deaths of 10 babies.
The babies died over a period of two months following an outbreak of antibiotic resistant bacteria Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales in the hospital’s neonatal unit.
READ: SAHRC to visit Tembisa Hospital over the death of 10 babies
Last week, the Department of Health in Gauteng said that seventeen cases were reported at the hospital between November and December.
The commission met with hospital management on Monday to discuss the interventions put in place to prevent any further deaths due to the outbreak.
Speaking to the media after the visit, the commission’s Buang Jones said they will continue to monitor the situation at the hospital.
“There are a myriad of factors that contributed to the situation and some of the interventions that have been proposed by the hospital will seek to address those.
“Issues of infrastructure, overcrowding, staff shortages are issues that the hospital is currently seized with and we are happy with the explanations.”
He also called on the government to draw up a plan to address bacteria outbreaks at hospitals around the country.
“The department should review how they allocate resources to hospitals such as Tembisa, which has seen a exponential number of people staying in the vicinity.”