Health

1. The information requested is not, for various reasons, electronically available in all our facilities nor in the requested format. Even where it is available, it would have to be manually and individually verified against the patients’ clinical folders which is a lengthy process. It is also difficult to report accurate as some minor burns patients would also be treated at clinic level and not be referred to hospital.
2. There are some challenges in reporting the number of fatalities as a result of shack fires. The circumstances of death are not always clear / consistently captured and there may be fire related death circumstances that could be for example as a result of a Road Traffic Incident or that took place in formal residential areas but may in a back-yard dwelling.

Even though the scene of injury includes ‘Informal settlement’ some patients may have been transported to a medical facility where they pass away. We are therefore unable to be 100% confident in the number of fatalities and this can only be done through a detailed case review of each of the fire-related admissions.