The water shortage at Elim Hospital continues, with no immediate solution in sight. Some of the frustrated patients have now resorted to social media, distributing videos that show what they must put up with when visiting the hospital for treatment....CONTINUE READING
Patients who need to undergo certain medical procedures that Elim Hospital cannot perform, are apparently transferred to hospitals in Polokwane. In one of the videos that was circulated, a person claimed that they were told to be at Elim Hospital very early as the driver would be there to transport them to Mankweng Hospital. They therefore arrived at Elim Hospital at 04:00, but in the end had to wait until around 12:00 because of a shortage of hospital vehicles. All the time that they were waiting for the driver, no water was available to drink, and they could not even use the toilet because it could not be flushed. When the driver finally arrived, they had to wait for some time more as the vehicle then had to be cleaned first of all the dirt.
This situation reportedly started in 2019 when the hospital’s two boreholes dried up. Another borehole was drilled outside the hospital grounds, but it does not produce enough water for the hospital’s needs. The Department of Health blames community members for illegal water connections. Since then, the hospital has been relying on the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) to provide them with water tankers, which patients claim do not come regularly.
Despite numerous complaints and calls for help from community leaders and concerned residents, the water problem at Elim Hospital has been left unresolved.
On Tuesday, 13 February, visited the hospital and had a chat with some of the patients. One of the patients, whose right hand was broken and was waiting to be operated on, said the shortage of water was a big problem. “Sometimes we have running water around 05:00 in the morning, and at night only for an hour and a half.”
Another patient said, “We feel neglected, and coupled with the struggle for water, we cannot explain the long queue we encounter every time we come here for help.”
Residents also raised concerns about the poor ambulance services in the district.
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), a civil-society organisation, gave the Limpopo Department of Health (LDOH) and Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) 14 days to respond to matters raised by residents from Elim and the surrounding areas last week. This was during a meeting that was organised by TAC and held at the Elim Hlanganani Hall on 8 February, with members from the VDM and LDOH in attendance.
Mr Matodzi Ralushai, VDM’s spokesperson, outlined a plan to address the water crisis at Elim Hospital. “In the short term, the municipality will deliver water through trucks to Elim Hospital. For the medium term, we plan to re-drill two additional boreholes, and in the long term, there are plans to construct a bulk pipeline connecting Mashau villages from Nandoni to Elim,” he said.
Upon inquiry, the spokesperson for the LDOH, Mr Neil Shikwambana, claimed that they were not aware of these issues. “We have since instructed our EMS team to look into the matter for an improvement or a turnaround. We are working closely with the VDM, together with the traditional leadership and communities in the area, to sort out the problem,” he said.
