Health
With reference to the call by unions to close Tygerberg Hospital:
(1) What were the reasons behind the demand for closure;
(2) whether the hospital will be closed; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether her Department responded to the claim that the hospital is a “breeding ground for COVID-19”; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
(1) The Department of Labour conducted a site inspection into the occupational health and safety measures in place at the hospital. Although the hospital had previously done an internal risk assessment and cleaning, the following was agreed to with the delegation from Department of Labour:
- The officials issued an order for four (4) non-clinical areas (engineering department, kitchen, main stores and two (2) offices in the administration building) which were identified for further action.
(2). No. The identified areas were deep cleaned and evidence were provided to the
Department of Labour where after they reopened.
(3) Tygerberg Hospital remains committed to working with the Department of Labour and union representatives to address all issues affecting staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. The hospital is cognisant that this a stressful time for staff. The management is working actively to find solutions to create safe working conditions for all, and that efforts are afoot to ensure that the hospital remains a compliant institution with respect to health and safety.
Tygerberg Hospital, and the Western Cape Department of Health as a whole, remains committed to the safety of its staff. The area risk assessment will be completed and submitted within the timeframe. The hospital has also taken numerous steps to generally reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19 by:
- Stopping routine visiting of patients;
- De-congregating the outpatient departments by de-escalation of outpatient services; and
- Creating a separate entrance for staff to minimise the risk of infection by reducing the overall number of entrances to the building, while different entrances have been accorded different roles. For instance, those that cater for outpatients are ensuring that there is screening-on-entry as well as further screening at the outpatient clinic.
The management of Tygerberg is deeply disturbed by allegations that they are not addressing safety issues. The hospital is fully compliant to its own internal departmental safety protocol, but the Department of Labour have different requirements (with proof that needs to be submitted) which the Western Cape Department of Health was not aligned to.
The hospital will take the required steps to comply to ensure that it meets all health and safety requirements.
The hospital remains committed to exploring additional ways with the affected parties to enable improved safety for all.
