BETHESDA Hospital in Obanjeni is on the verge of closing down if the water crisis affecting the facility – and the Ubombo district in general – is not resolved immediately.
Residents of the region say water shortages started last November, blaming municipal ineptitude.
During this time the water pump supplying water to the hospital broke down.
‘Since Sunday the hospital has not received a single litre of water and X-ray and theatre operations had to be stopped as a result,’ said a source at the hospital.
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‘We know that hospital management has written to the Provincial Department of Health, seeking advice on whether to shut down the hospital.
‘The hospital management fears there might be an outbreak of diseases as flushing toilets are not working.
‘They have held numerous meetings with the Umkhanyakude District Municipal Manager, to seek solutions.
‘We have it on good authority that the municipality has been sending four water tankers per day, but at the beginning of this year they reduced the number to three.
‘Last week we waited for water and until today (Wednesday), there is nothing,’ said the source.
Bethesda Hospital serves a population of about 100 000 people and has about 230 authorised beds. It has eight residential clinics and two mobile clinic teams.
Spokesperson for Umkhanyakude District Municipality, Mdu Dlamini, said they were busy replacing a broken water pump to ensure that the hospital operates smoothly without any challenges.
‘It is new to us that the hospital has no water. Our water tankers are sending water daily to Bethesda Hospital,’ said Dlamini.
The Provincial Department of Health could not be reached at the time of going to print.
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