Tembisa Hospital caught short on camera

A video exposing the state of the casualty ward at Tembisa Hospital has emerged showing patients on the floor and a family member feeding his loved one on a hospital bed.

The Gauteng health department and the hospital have confirmed that the video was taken in its casualty ward on Thursday.

The man speaking on the video can be heard pleading with the community and different government departments to improve the state of the health at the institution.

“This is not on. I am currently at the Tembisa Hospital. You cannot sleep and eat in such a place. Look at how it is, look at the people,” he said.

Patients can be seen in beds with no linen while another is sleeping on the floor, with only thin cloths to lie on and just a small blanket.

There is rubbish everywhere.

“This guy here is feeding his own brother because there is no one else to do it. There is no nurse or doctor. Let us try something as a community: councillors, mayors, MEC, health department, let us come here and see what we can do at the Tembisa hospital," pleads the man who took the footage.

Speaking to Sowetan on Friday, Gauteng health department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said he was aware of the video and that the ward was in that state for a few hours. It was not the usual state of the hospital, he said.

“The casualty was cleared after that. The hospital has to put out a statement on what was happening and what caused the hospital to be like that,” Modiba said.

ratsatsik@sowetan.co.za