R500 million Covid-19 hospital gathers dust as no patients are admitted

A Gauteng hospital, which was refurbished at a cost of more than R500 million to treat Covid-19 patients, is alleged to have turned into a white elephant six months after its completion as less than 10 patients have been treated at this facility located in a remote area.

The Anglo Ashanti hospital in the West Rand opened amid much fanfare by Gauteng Premier David Makhura in May before the peak of the third wave of infections but it has only admitted 8 patients critically ill with Covid-19. This was revealed by the Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in an oral reply to DA health spokesperson Jack Bloom at the Gauteng Legislature on Tuesday.

According to Mokgethi, 109 Covid-19 patients in total were at the hospital between June and October this year. Mokgethi said this hospital has 175 approved beds, but only 15 beds were used for Covid-19 patients. Bloom said all the beds were supposed to be high care or intensive care, so a mere 8 critical care patients shows what a waste of money this hospital has been.

According to Bloom, this money would have been better spent on existing hospitals that are short of staff and equipment. He further alleged that tenders to renovate this hospital were marred by corruption. “Another scandal is that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has uncovered evidence of massive corruption and issued a preservation order to freeze about R7 million in the bank accounts of two contractors in this matter,” said Bloom.

“According to the SIU, the one company got a tender of R50 million which ballooned to more than R500 million. It is alleged that the other company got a contract through a phone call,” he said. “My view is that it is a white elephant in a remote area, and further money is more productively spent elsewhere to provide desperately needed extra health services.

Bloom called for anyone who crooked the department in this matter should be prosecuted, and money recovered where possible. The Gauteng Health Department spent more than R500m refurbishing the hospital, which was donated to the province by AngloGold Ashanti as part of the response to Covid-19 with the hope that it would also permanently contribute to the provision of quality healthcare in the West Rand.

Mokgethi said that the hospital will be combined with the Carletonville hospital to provide extra services in the area. Last year Nasrec field hospital was decommissioned without receiving a single patient after it was built at a cost of R248 million. However, Gauteng health spokesperson Kwara Kekana denied any wasteful expenditure on these healthcare facilities.

“The Nasrec Covid-19 Facility was used and played its role significantly until it was decommissioned. The Anglo Ashanti Facility is functional and forms part of our contingency for the 4th wave as it was also used for the 3rd wave. And will continue to be utilised,’ said Kekana responding to the R500 million health facility.”