Tembisa Hospital fire: Emergency, outpatient care halted
Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has encouraged the public to visit neighbouring hospitals, from Tembisa Provincial Hospital, in case of an emergency, after a second fire broke out at their Outpatient Department.
This latest incident comes just days after a separate fire engulfed the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit on Saturday night, raising serious concerns over safety at the facility.
“We need to state clearly that this was not a continuation of the Saturday fire; it is distinct from the incident at the Accident and Emergency unit to the Outpatient department, where there is a storage of records, which is where the [second] fire started," said Phaahla.
READ MORE: Firefighters respond to another blaze at Tembisa Hospital
The deputy minister said that although the public can access the hospital for health care, including medication collection, medical emergencies cannot be attended to.
He added that ambulances have also been diverted to other hospitals.
“Because of the reality of what happened, some services may have to be tampered with. This hospital, at this stage, is not in a position to take any emergencies. Our ambulance services have been diverted to other hospitals like Tambo Memorial and Edenvale Hospital. These are hospitals available to take emergency responsibilities.”
Phaahla told the public that visitations to loved ones are allowed at the hospital as the wards remain unaffected by the fire.
“Those who have relatives in the wards can still come during normal visiting hours, 2 pm to 4 pm. The advice is that you have to use gate four at those hours.”
The deputy minister added that although the two fire incidents are not connected, investigations are underway into the cause of the blaze.
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