KZN floods: Health department deploys team to assess impact on healthcare services
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Six KwaZulu-Natal districts have borne the brunt of the damage to healthcare infrastructure due to floods, with the health minister dispatching a team of national and provincial officials to assess the impact on services.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla, who had visited the province on Tuesday, said healthcare services had been most affected in eThekwini, Ugu, Ilembe, uMgungundlovu, King Cetshwayo and uMkhanyakude districts.
The damaged healthcare infrastructure included 23 hospitals, 34 clinics and community health centres. Repairs were expected to cost around R187 million, which Phaahla said the department would request from National Treasury.
"Most damages manifest in the form of weakened roof coverings, failed waterproofing membranes causing water ingress, embankments and retaining wall failures," said Phaahla.
He added that extensive repairs were needed to replace the entire roof coverings and embankment restabilisation at Newtown Community Health Centre, Wentworth Regional Hospital, GJ Crookes Hospital, and Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital. Services at Newtown Health Centre had come to a halt, he said.
Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in Umlazi had been left without water supply as a result of the floods. Work was under way to fill the reservoir through water tanks. The water supply was expected to be restored by midday on Thursday.
Experts - who include the engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and construction managers - have classified the damage to health infrastructure as moderate compared to the damages experienced in October 2017 in eThekwini.
Of the 455 bodies recovered after the flooding, 377 had undergone post-mortems by Wednesday morning, said Phaahla. The remaining 50 post-mortems were expected to be finalised on Thursday.
Phaahla called on families "to collect the remains for burial".
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