All Saints Hospital staff queue for water as crisis deepens

On a chilly Monday morning in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape, nurses at All Saints Hospital stood in line waiting their turn to fill buckets from a JoJo tank.

On Thursday staff received a notice from the hospital’s CEO, which read: “No functional ablution facilities shall be closed while the facility has water in tanks until further notice. Updates on water pump repairs will be done in due time.”

The hospital serves a population of about 148,000 people from Ngcobo and parts of Cofimvaba, but for weeks it has been operating without access to running water.

A nurse described the situation as deeply frustrating, saying they have to fetch water each time they need to use the toilet or attend to patients. “Even the clinic next to the hospital doesn’t have water. When you have to do a dressing, you first go fetch water,” she said.

The Sunday Times reported this week that staff members were also concerned about their safety after management allegedly told them that if anything happened to them while fetching water, it would be their own responsibility.

We continue to monitor the situation, with water carting and JoJo tank refills in place to sustain operations and patient care until the permanent system is installed

—  Siyanda Manana, Eastern Cape health department spokesperson

Another nurse said there had been little progress with the promised borehole, meant to end the crisis. “The borehole they’re talking about was abandoned after they did some digging. There’s no hope that it will ever be completed,” she said.

Staff said the situation is particularly dire in the maternity ward.

“There was a pile of dirty linen that left a pungent smell in the hospital. It was only taken today [Thursday] to be washed at Mjanyana Hospital, which is an hour away,” one nurse added.

This week, Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Siyanda Manana confirmed the hospital has been facing water challenges due to vandalism and damage to its pumps. He said the matter was reported through the department’s call centre, and a work order was issued to a service provider to deliver emergency water and restore the system.

“A total of 50,000l of water was requested for delivery to the facility. The first 10,000l were delivered on the same day to ensure that critical operations could continue, with further deliveries made as required,” he said.

The department has initiated emergency procurement to install two deep-well submersible pumps with backup systems to ensure an uninterrupted water supply, he said.

“The upgraded system will include stainless steel submersible pumps, surge and overload protection and an automatic control panel to maintain a continuous supply and prevent future breakdowns.”

Manana said while dental services were briefly suspended, critical clinical areas, including maternity, remained operational with available reserves.

“We continue to monitor the situation, with water carting and JoJo tank refills in place to sustain operations and patient care until the permanent system is installed.”

The department is also implementing security measures, including CCTV installation at the pump station, to prevent further vandalism and safeguard infrastructure, he added.

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