TSHWANE, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 10: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are hung next to tents dedicated to the treatment of possible COVID-19 coronavirus patients at the Tshwane District Hospital on July 10, 2020 in Tshwane, South Africa. According to a media release, Health MEC and the Minister Mkhize visited the facility as part of supporting the staff that is working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
PPE worth R20m destroyed in Carletonville Hospital fire
Police have launched an arson investigation after part of the Carletonville Hospital in the West Rand caught fire, causing extensive damage to personal protective equipment (PPE)
TSHWANE, SOUTH AFRICA – JULY 10: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are hung next to tents dedicated to the treatment of possible COVID-19 coronavirus patients at the Tshwane District Hospital on July 10, 2020 in Tshwane, South Africa. According to a media release, Health MEC and the Minister Mkhize visited the facility as part of supporting the staff that is working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
A fire has broken out at the Carletonville Hospital in the West Rand, mainly affecting a personal protective equipment (PPE) storage facility. The PPE damaged was reportedly worth R20 million.
The Gauteng Health Department confirmed that the incident took place on Thursday, 4 February 2021. The department said, however that no hospital services were disrupted as a result of the blaze.
The department’s Kwara Kekana was also able to confirm that there were no staff or patients who were affected by the fire.
Apart from PPE, other equipment which also included an X-ray unit, blankets, sheets, vital signs monitors and medical instruments, had been there since April 2020 and would be replenished.
“The Old Crèche building had been used as a storage facility for personal protective equipment and for health equipment that had been temporarily stored at the facility”
Gauteng Health – Police investigating cause of Carletonville Hospital fire
According to Kekana, the Carletonville hospital had been requested by Gauteng Department of Infrastructure and Development (DID) to assist with temporary storage of health equipment and linen meant for the Anglo-Ashanti Hospital during its construction phase, due to the relative close proximity of the hospitals to each other.
“A team of engineers from DID visited the site to assess the electrical appliances and the department awaits their official report. Furthermore, the fire department has already initiated investigations into the cause of the fire and a police case has been opened to also investigate all issues surrounding the cause of fire,” she further said.
“The hospital has replenished PPE stock from the provincial warehouses and an alternative storage area has been identified within the hospital to keep the stock.”
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has also reacted to the news, saying an independent investigation is needed to determine whether the fire was due to negligence or sabotage.
“This is a severe loss, and accountability is needed for the lack of preventive measures that allowed it to occur,” said the party’s Jack Bloom.
