BROKEN LIFTS AT JOBURG HOSPITAL

16 July 2015

I am disappointed to hear that lifts at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital are broken yet again, causing distress to sick patients and visitors.

According to community activist Khadija Patel (tweeting at @KhadijaPatel), the lifts at the Blue Section of the hospital were all broken yesterday, and were working intermittently in the past week.

Earlier this week, her parents got stuck in the lifts for ten minutes before they got working again.

This raises questions about the quality of the new lifts from China that were recently installed.

Why were these lifts chosen and why are they maintained so badly?

The saga of broken lifts at this leading hospital has gone on for far too long.

It highlights the incompetence of the Infrastructure Development Department that is responsible for the lifts and other equipment at the hospital that frequently breaks down because of poor maintenance.

The escalators from the parking lot to the hospital are also broken, and the air-conditioning for theatres is not reliable.

I will be asking questions about the lift contracts which should have been awarded to a reputable company with decent lifts that don't keep breaking down.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC July 16 2015