The Department of Labour closed down the maternity ward at the National Hospital on Thursday, 10 July, because of the cold conditions and babies getting hyperthermia.
Lynsie Pelser, spokesperson for the Public Servants Association (PSA) said the ongoing deterioration of healthcare infrastructure in the Free State has reached a critical point.
“We demand the immediate and decisive intervention of the National Department of Health and the National Government,” she said in a news release on Thursday.
The PSA requested again the intervention on Ward 4 at the National Hospital which is now used as the maternity ward.
Pelser said babies in the ward are struggling to keep warm and the Department of Labour ordered the temporary closure of the ward. Patients were transferred to Pelonomi Hospital.
In the prohibition the Department of Labour states that the health and safety of employees are at risk to exposure due to extremely low temperatures in the maternity ward 4.
The hospital is still under construction after the fire on 7 July a year ago and the hospital is not fully operational.
“Despite the recent allocation of R14.1 billion by the Free State Department of Health to strengthen services and infrastructure, the situation on the ground tells a different story.
“Multiple government mortuaries – including those in Botshabelo, Bethlehem, and Phuthaditjhaba—have been forced to close due to non-compliance and unsafe conditions. The Bloemfontein mortuary remains only partially operational, severely compromising forensic pathology services and the dignity of the deceased.”
Pelser said the infrastructure collapse is not only a violation of basic human rights, but also a public health emergency.
“Communities are being denied access to essential services and healthcare workers are operating under unsafe and unsustainable conditions. The people of the Free State deserve a healthcare system that is functional, dignified, and responsive. We cannot allow systemic neglect to continue while lives hang in the balance.”
