The days of maintenance backlogs holding back the delivery of essential services at institutions such as hospitals in Gauteng should be a thing of the past.
That is according the MEC for Infrastructure Development, Qedani Mahlangu, who today visited the Chris Hani Baragwanath and Charlotte Maxeke academic hospitals to attend to maintenance concerns.
Mahlangu met with hospital CEOs as well as service providers commissioned to work on generators, lifts, chillers, autoclaves and a variety of electro-mechanical equipment in a bid to resolve maintenance-related difficulties impacting on service delivery.
“The days of maintenance backlogs will be a legacy of the past; we will hold you accountable to the delivery of health infrastructure that is on time, within budget and of superior quality. I will not tolerate service providers who cut corners, the Department of Infrastructure Development is not the environment that will tolerate mediocrity,” said MEC Mahlangu in her address to service providers.
The MEC touched on the 2011 Census results, saying the survey indicated that “56% of the people living in Gauteng were not born in Gauteng. We have the highest rate of in-migration in the country. Census results revealed that Gauteng has a population of 12.3 million - an increase of 33.7% from 1996 to 2011. Johannesburg is one of the premier cities for in-migration. This places a tremendous strain on the health care system of the province and the city. Both Chris Hani Baragwanath and Charlotte Maxeke hospitals bear the bulk of the city’s patients. It is in this regard that we must streamline our maintenance processes in order to ensure faster turnaround times for seamless service delivery”.
As part of the MEC’s interventions the department will now station a team of professionals within Charlotte Maxeke, Chris Hani Baragwanth, Steve Biko and Dr George Mukhari hospitals. The team will include mechanical and electrical engineers, quantity surveyors and supporting artisans. They will be responsible for maintaining all equipment, conducting preventative maintenance, drafting specifications and project scoping.
Earlier this year an agreement was reached with the Department of Health for minor maintenance functions to be transferred to hospital CEOs, together with the allocated budget. This means that CEOs will be responsible for purchasing material and managing maintenance for minor work of less than R1 million. This approach was adopted to address the turnaround times for minor maintenance at provincial hospitals.
The MEC also conducted a progress inspection of the Zola / Jabulani Hospital, which is due to be completed early next year.
“Once Zola/ Jabulani is completed it will provide relief to the surrounding communities of Moletsane, Tladi and Naledi as well as the neighbouring Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital. We have experienced several challenges in the construction of this project with some delays related to the payment of the contractors – we are committed to resolving these matters,” said the MEC.
Enquiries:
Ramona Baijnath
Cell: 071 670 5863
Email ramona.baijnath@gauteng.gov.za
Maintenance backlogs should be a thing of the past - MEC Mahlangu
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