Q:Why are so many of your hospitals not compliant with fire and safety requirements?
A:Our biggest challenge is fire suppression equipment, which is a design issue.
Q:Not a management issue?
A:It’s a design issue. It’s a function of when these hospitals were constructed. A majority were constructed when many of these townships were established. They were designed when fire suppression equipment was not installed as a design area.
Q:Are you saying your hospitals have fire suppression equipment that’s not fit for purpose?
A:No. Facilities in some of our newer areas would have this equipment, but in the old hospitals we don’t have that.
Q:So these hospitals are sitting with essential equipment that is not fit for purpose?
A:No. Equipment that requires engineering installation, like where there are sprinklers and detectors, we have been incrementally installing.
Q:But not at Tembisa Hospital?
A:Not at Tembisa. All these old township facilities have the same problem.
Q:Meaning they’re not compliant with fire and safety requirements?
A:They’re at different stages.
Q:Isn’t full compliance a statutory requirement in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act?
A:The OHSA gives certain principles to guide the compliance of employers. The first principle is the reasonable person’s test. So, what would a reasonable CEO do when they do not have fire suppression equipment? Most of our hospitals have fire extinguishers.
Q:Doesn’t the OHSA oblige you to be 100% compliant with the requirement for fire suppression equipment?
A:Your 100% is not even a requirement at an international level. We have committed ourselves to 90%. None of our facilities is less than 75%.
Q:Don’t two fires at Tembisa Hospital in four days suggest that their fire and safety measures are not fit for purpose?
A:That question will be answered by the law enforcement agencies, Ekurhuleni fire department and the department of employment & labour’s inspections. But we can tell you that X-rays and other areas have been cleared.
Q:What about the accident and emergency and outpatient units?
A:The accident and emergency we cannot access at all. We have to have structural engineers to fix that place and tell us it is safe; we must have electrical engineers. All that is going to take some time.
Q:Years, surely, if you look at Charlotte Maxeke?
A:Charlotte Maxeke is 100% functional.
Q:After how many years?
A:Point taken. It took longer than anticipated, but we’ve learnt lessons.
Q:Shouldn’t you have learnt the importance of having proper fire prevention equipment at your hospitals?
A:The Charlotte Maxeke situation cannot apply here.
Q:Shouldn’t it have been a wake-up call for you?
A:Yes, and we have actually learnt lessons from Charlotte Maxeke.
Q:So how is it that four years later another of your hospitals is critically damaged by not just one but two fires?
A:After the investigations we can answer this question more precisely.
Q:When last was there a comprehensive assessment of fire and safety protocols at your hospitals?
A:The 15th of every month we get a comprehensive report from each of our hospitals.
Q:And a week later Tembisa goes up in flames?
A:No law, no science, expects our hospitals to be 100% compliant.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.