Polokwane Provincial Hospital in Limpopo Plagued by Rat and Cockroach Infestation, Patients Worry About Nosocomial Infections
Key Highlights :
Polokwane Provincial Hospital in Limpopo, South Africa is facing a major rat and cockroach infestation, leaving patients and their families worried about the potential of nosocomial infections. The provincial health department has confirmed an increase in pests at the facility, prompting relatives of some patients to consider having their loved ones discharged to recuperate at home.
Lesetja Manamela, whose mother is a patient at the hospital, said, “We have to bring her food daily because she is afraid of eating the in-house food because of the cockroaches there. She says she can't even sleep well because she is afraid of rats.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has threatened to storm the hospital and "do pest control ourselves”, citing the hospital as a “hospital of death” due to patients getting worse instead of better while in the facility. Staff members have described their working conditions as “perplexing”, and are afraid of the rats.
The provincial health spokesperson, Neil Shikwambana, said the department's environmental unit is investigating the cause of the infestation and potential measures to take. He also denied reports that the department is to return more than R71 million of unspent conditional grants to the National Treasury, stating that the unspent amount was R46.7 million and was used to purchase machinery and equipment for cancer treatment.
The health and safety of patients and staff at Polokwane Provincial Hospital is of utmost importance, and the department is taking action to ensure the infestation is addressed as quickly as possible. In the meantime, patients and their families are encouraged to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of any infections.
