Ailing hospital in Johannesburg a disaster

On August 10, a pregnant woman stuck in a broken lift at the Coronation hospital for two hours had to give birth in the lift. A contractor reportedly arrived 50 minutes later to repair the lift.

Two days later, a mother who was due to have an emergency caesarean section after her foetus was in distress was forced to push instead because of a power failure. Her baby was stillborn.

A paediatrician was called to help, but was trapped in the hospital's ward 16 behind an electronic gate because the key to unlock the gate couldn't be found.

The latest incident is now under investigation by the Gauteng Department of Health. The hospital reportedly remained without electricity for about half an hour.

Jack Bloom, the Democratic Alliance spokesperson on health matters, said the baby's cord was apparently stuck around its neck and it could not receive oxygen because the hospital was without electricity.

"This is a tragedy, which could have been foreseen. It looks like equipment failure was a factor. What price do you put on a baby's life?" he asked.

"Coronation is a troubled hospital. The MEC says there is a medical investigation into the death of the baby, but I don't think that's good enough.

"Maintenance at the hospital is a disaster from top to bottom. There are always broken lifts, and heavily pregnant women have to trudge up the stairs. If it's not the lifts that are broken, the power back-up supply is not operational."

Maintenance of the hospital falls under the Gauteng Department of Public Transport, Roads and Works.

Its spokesperson, Alfred Nhlapo, said the back-up generator at Coronation Hospital was fully functional on August 12.

"Allegations that the generator was dysfunctional are untrue," he said.

This week, on a visit to the hospital, where corridors were swollen with pregnant women, hospital staff were overheard asking if the lifts were working. A lift was broken in the maternity wing.

An apologetic Nhlapo said the department would install 200 new lifts at hospitals and certain provincial buildings by October. "The bulk of the infrastructure is old and derelict despite maintenance."

Over 12 000 babies are born every year at Coronation Hospital, which Bloom said was "under enormous pressure".

He blamed the collapsing infrastructure on the Public Works Department's cancellation of long-term maintenance contracts last June, replacing them with a call centre.

Nhlapo said: "The department decided last year that instead of having one contractor dedicated to several hospitals, the call centre was a pool of contractors available around the clock - a huge improvement on the old system."

But Bloom maintains: "The hospital is a disaster and needs a thorough overhaul.

"The department should hang their heads in shame."