Joburg pathology building delayed by more than three years

The budget for a new Pathology Services building for the Gauteng Health Department is R588 million but it is running more than three years behind schedule.

This is revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to Mokgethi:

“The original plan was to refurbish and rehabilitate the existing facility that is situated in Hillbrow, but after assessment of the facility it was decided to rather build a new one, incorporate a head office for the Forensic Pathology services as well as basement parking for the existing nurses’s college at Helen Joseph Hospital.”

Construction of this building situated next to the Helen Joseph Hospital started on 3 November 2016 and was supposed to be completed on 3 November 2019.

It is now only 71% completed and is expected to be finished on 21 January 2023.

The delay is blamed on poor service by the professional team and change in designs during the construction stage, which has led to additional work and cost increases.

Meanwhile, pathologists continue to work at the decrepit Hillbrow mortuary instead of a new building that should have been completed two-and-a-half years ago.

This is yet another example of the notorious incompetence of the Gauteng Infrastructure Development Department (GDID) which hardly ever completes a project on schedule and within budget.

Corruption is also a factor as fishy contractors are often selected who are unable to finish the job and have to be replaced at extra expense.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating many cases involving the GDID, including the R500 million Anglo Ashanti ghost hospital in the far west rand, and botched repairs to the fire-damaged Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital.

This is why the DA has called for the GDID to be shut down and replaced by a competent entity that can get the job done.

Premier David Makhura needs to take this decisive action otherwise Gauteng residents will continue to suffer from endless delays in vital building projects.

Thousands of unidentified bodies in Gauteng mortuaries

Unidentified

More than 4000 bodies in Gauteng state mortuaries have not been identified in the last three years, and the number of unclaimed bodies has risen from 242 in 2012 to 403 last year.

These tragic figures are revealed by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu in a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to Mahlangu, the main reasons for unclaimed and unidentified bodies are as follows:

  • Lack of authentic identification documentation;
  • Foreign nationals and South Africans from other provinces who travel without ID documents; and
  • Socio-economic reasons including resource constraints for burial and distance from family.

There has been some decline over the years in unidentified bodies, but an increase in unclaimed bodies.

Bodies are unclaimed usually because families cannot afford to bury them.

The figures given are as follows:

Number of unidentified and unclaimed bodies:

  • 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 – 1603 unidentified and 242 unclaimed;
  • 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 – 1254 unidentified and 334 unclaimed; and
  • 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 – 1272 unidentified and 403 unclaimed

The Springs mortuary had the highest number of unclaimed bodies over this period (203) followed by Pretoria (181), Roodepoort (145) and Johannesburg (119).

The Gauteng Health Department has been struggling since 2006 to develop an internet system that will assist in people identifying bodies.

According to Mahlangu, the Gauteng Forensic Pathology “is currently developing a comprehensive mortuary management system targeting January 2016 for completion with first phase piloting for February 2016.

I hope that an internet system is implemented soon so that bodies can be identified in this way, rather than relatives going to each mortuary, which is very traumatic and time-consuming.

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222