Latest news with #HelenJosephHospital
The Herald
02-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald
Water supply interruptions affecting some Joburg health facilities
Helen Joseph Hospital on Tuesday experienced water supply interruptions which are affecting parts of the hospital and surrounding communities. This follows a notice issued by Rand Water regarding scheduled water supply interruptions due to infrastructure maintenance at Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes and Palmiet pumping stations planned for June 30 to July 21. 'Johannesburg Water tankers have been dispatched to pump water into the hospital tanks to ensure continuity of services,' the Gauteng health department said. It said Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital was affected by the Zwartkopjes water system interruption, with no pumping to the Parktown 2 Reservoir since Monday morning. 'However, the facility is still receiving water through gravity feed from the reservoir and tanks continue to be supplied for the time being.' The department said the Alexandra and Hillbrow community health centres were also affected and were now relying on JoJo tanks for water. TimesLIVE
News24
30-06-2025
- Health
- News24
DA slams Gauteng health department over dead bodies ‘left in limbo due to missing printer cartridges'
The DA alleges families were unable to bury loved ones as post-mortems and death certificates could not be processed. The health department confirms a printer issue but says contingency plans resolved the matter. DA's Madeleine Hicklin blames MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and says the system is failing both the living and the dead. The DA in Gauteng has alleged that bodies of patients who died at Johannesburg's Helen Joseph Hospital over the past 13 days cannot be transferred to government mortuaries due to a shortage of printer cartridges needed to produce the required documentation. The party released a statement on Monday, demanding Gauteng MEC for Health Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko ensure that the hospital is stocked with adequate cartridges and resources so that burials are not interrupted or delayed, thereby avoiding unnecessary pain, frustration and trauma for the families of the deceased. This is despite the Gauteng department of health dismissing what it refers to as misleading reports that suggest that the Helen Joseph Hospital mortuary currently has corpses left in limbo due to a shortage of printer cartridges. The spokesperson for the department, Motalatale Modiba, said that, contrary to what he described as a sensationalised report, the facility's mortuary currently has only one body, that of a patient who was declared dead on arrival on Wednesday, 25 June, and was initially unidentified. 'The family of the deceased was eventually traced to KwaZulu-Natal, and they were notified accordingly,' he said. This means that the body will now be handed over to the forensic team on Monday, 30 June, for processing, thereby enabling the family to collect it. Motalatale Modiba Modiba confirmed that while the facility did experience challenges related to printing services, challenges which impacted the turnaround time required to process cases at the hospital mortuary between 17 and 23 June 2025, facility management was able to activate contingency measures. These measures resulted in five families, whose cases were pending, being successfully assisted on Tuesday, 24 June 2025, he explained. 'The issue with printing services arose due to delays in the processing of payments to two service providers,' he said, adding that the matter is currently receiving attention and is being addressed by the department's finance team. Modiba further stated that the department would like to reiterate that there are currently no corpses at Helen Joseph Hospital that are outstanding or awaiting processing as a result of printing-related challenges. However, Madeleine Hicklin, a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, maintains that her party received this alarming information from 'credible sources who are calling for immediate intervention'. As a result of this administrative incompetence, since 17 June 2025, families have been unable to claim the bodies of their loved ones for burial, as post-mortems could not be conducted and death certificates could not be issued. Madeleine Hicklin 'MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko must hang her head in shame,' she said. She added that despite the MEC's proclamations that the Gauteng department of health is functioning well, the fact that the necessary paperwork for the deceased cannot be processed is proof that the department is irrevocably broken. Hicklin also argued that this situation is further evidence that, under Panyaza Lesufi's administration, both the living and the dead are not being treated with dignity in Gauteng. 'Because the premier refuses to fire his MEC or even acknowledge her failures, the people of Gauteng are the ones who are left to suffer,' she said.
The Herald
30-06-2025
- Health
- The Herald
Health department denies mortuary problems
Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said while the hospital had experienced printing service issues between June 17 and 23, contingency plans were put in place and all affected families had been assisted by Tuesday. 'Contrary to the sensationalised report, the facility's mortuary currently has only one body of a patient who was declared dead on arrival on Wednesday, 25 June. The family of the deceased was eventually traced to KwaZulu-Natal and was notified accordingly,' said Modiba. He said the delay in printing services was due to delayed payments to two service providers, but this had been resolved. 'The department would like to reiterate that currently Helen Joseph Hospital has no corpses that are outstanding and awaiting to be processed as a result of printing challenges,' Modiba said. However, the funeral association's Johan Rousseau on Sunday said the problem had affected at least six cases. 'We've got a serious problem. 'Officials don't understand the trauma this causes for families. Funeral parlours get frustrated because they cannot assist the family properly and in the absence of a regulator or ombudsman there's little recourse,' he said. DA Gauteng spokesperson for health Madeleine Hicklin called on MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko to take accountability. 'Despite her shouting from the rooftops that the department is functioning well, the fact that paperwork for the deceased could not be processed shows that the department is irrevocably broken,' Hicklin said. SowetanLIVE
