Question NW2629 to the Minister of Health

Province

Name of the hospital

(i) in the (aa) 2019/20,

(bb) 2020/21

(cc) 2021/22

(ii) since 1 April 2022

(b) what are the details thereof in each case?

Free State

Universitas Academic Hospital

2020

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A cigarette smoked in the male public toilet at the waiting area at Ward 3 was the cause of fire. A side window in the toilet was forced open by damaging the locking rivets which secure the window always closed. The cigarette butt was thrown out of the window and landed on the shaft floor. It ignited some old toilet paper and hand towels. The fire was extinguished immediately. The fire extinguishers and fire hydrants are always serviced.

Botshabelo District Hospital

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January 2022

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Laundry caught fire. The building was refurbished and the whole electrical cabling was replaced. The Institution is expecting the delivery of the new Laundry Machines which were affected by the fire.

Thebe District Hospital

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July 2022

Fire incident took place at the back of Thebe District Hospital near the Bulk Oxygen Cylinders. Veld fires came from the west side of the hospital in the afternoon. The firefighters were called but never reached due to unavailability of vehicles. The hospital staff used fire extinguishers and hose reels to stop the fire. The Senior Administration Officer was made aware of the situation and promised to maintain the grass short and pave around the oxygen tank in the next financial year.

Phekolong/Nketoana District Hospital Complex

Nketoana District Hospital experienced fire in the storeroom that is situated outside the Hospital main building. It had equipment destined for disposal and stationery that was not in use.

Albert Nzula Hospital

May 2022

Fire incident at the accommodation site

Gauteng

Carletonville

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February 2021

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Fire at Carletonville destroyed medical equipment and PPE

Charlotte Maxeke

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April 2021

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Charlotte Maxeke Hospital caught fire medical and surgical consumables destroyed and the infrastructure destroyed

Steve Biko Academic

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May 2022

Fire at Steve Biko started at the Wendy house used for the storage of the medical waste

Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic

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June 2022

Fire at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic hospital started in the open space near the COVID-19 tents and was extinguished.

KwaZulu Natal

Nkandla

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18 June 2021

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Fire caused damages to the Office of the CEO, entrance to OPD and zonal matron’s office. Doors and expander gates and ceiling were damaged in all areas.

Hlabisa

13 January 2021

Hlabisa hospital psychiatry unit caught fire. The door, shower curtain was damaged and electric wires melted.

Limpopo

FH Odendaal

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04 May 2021

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The COVID -19 unit burnt and there were two casualties and one among them was a prisoner under guard. The whole cubicle damaged completely.

Ellisrus

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17 June 2021

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A fire broke out in the Occupational therapy toilet. The fire was put out and the damage was insignificant, and the building was declared safe for occupation.

Hellen Franz

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February 2020

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May 2022

One incident of fire in Maternity Block which also damaged the Clinic and part of maternity (1 roofed building) took place in February 2020.

One incident of Fire in May 2022. Faulty UV light caught fire in Allied block, but it was contained.

WF Knobel

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August 2022

Fire broke outside the hospital in August 2022 at around 16h30 and was extinguished by colleagues Working on Fire.

Mpumalanga

No hospitals

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N/A

Northern Cape

No report

Northwest

No report

Western Cape

Worcester Hospital

September 2019

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Fire took place due to the failure of electrical equipment in the substation.

Municipal main supply was re-instated within 72 hours.

Tygerberg Hospital

September 2019

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A notice board caught fire due to substation failure. Damage was limited to a small section of flooring and wall in the Adult Psychiatric Out-Patient Clinic.

Mitchells Plain CHC

September 2019

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Fire started in the theatre section due to an electrical fault but was quickly extinguished.

Caledon Hospital

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April 2021

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Fire damaged adjacent rooms and the efforts of the fire department resulted in additional water damage.

The said ward was fully restored and was fully operational within a fortnight.

The service was not adversely affected, and patients were accommodated in other wards in the hospital.

Vredendal Hospital

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May 2022

A patient set fire to the mattress and bed. The damage was assessed as:

a. The ward where the patient had been who allegedly had started the fire is very severely damaged

b. The adjacent passageway and wards have smoke damage but were not directly damaged by the fire

c. The water used to extinguish the fire also did some damage to e.g., the floors.

d. Furniture and equipment were coated with soot but not physically damaged

The COVID “field ward” which had been constructed during one of the worse waves of the epidemic – the old boiler room was converted to accommodate patients from the affected ward.