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The Gauteng Health Department has decided to curtail services at Kempton Park Hospital due to an acute shortage of professional staff.

From January 1 1997 services at this hospital will be restricted to:

Out-patient services

Ante-natal services.

Kempton Park is one of three hospitals in Gauteng which were proposed for closure in terms of the Health Department's structural transformation plan. The hospital was assessed as non-cost effective, due to low utilisation, before the plan was announced on October 24.

But Dr Eric Buch, Deputy Director-General of the Gauteng Health Department, stressed that the present cut-back on services was not the first step towards Kempton Park Hospital's closure. He pointed out that the transformation plan still had to be revised in the light of submissions from various stakeholders, including universities, local authorities and trade unions.

"Curtailing services at Kempton Park Hospital is not an attempt by the Health Department to put the structural transformation plan into action or to pre-empt the outcome of any consultations with stakeholders," said Dr Buch.

"We would have preferred not to make any changes at Kempton Park at this time, because they may be misinterpreted. But the fact is that staffing levels at this hospital have dropped so low that it is impossible to keep a full range of hospital services going.

"All the part-time doctors at Kempton Park have resigned and there are now only two doctors left. In addition, a large number of nurses have resigned or taken the severance packages which were offered towards the middle of 1996."

Since the end of September Kempton Park has been unable to run a casualty service.

Dr Buch said the Health Department would seriously consider the submission by the Khayalami Metro Council that Kempton Park Hospital should become a joint private/public sector venture. "The down-scaling of services will not prejudice the case of the Khayalami Council in any way."

Kempton Park has also temporarily been carrying part of the patient-load of Boksburg-Benoni Hospital (BBH) because of renovation and construction work at the latter institution. This work is now complete and BBH will be back to full capacity by January 6.

As from January 1 no new in-patients will be admitted to Kempton Park, although those already admitted will continue to receive treatment until they are ready for discharge (rather than transfer).

Patients requiring admission from January 1, should go to Edenvale, Boksburg-Benoni or Tembisa hospitals.

Out-patient and ante-natal services will continue and a small number of beds will be maintained for short-term observation and/or stabilisation of patients. If the complete closure of Kempton Park Hospital under the structural transformation plan is confirmed early next year, proper notice will be given of the transfer of out-patient and ante-natal services elsewhere.

All staff currently at Kempton Park Hospital should continue to report for work, although their duties may be affected by the curtailing of services. "We cannot consider transfers until the list of hospitals to be closed or converted into community health centres has been finalised in our revised plan and fair rules for transfers have been discussed with the unions," commented Dr Buch.

Released by the Directorate for Health Promotion and Communication.

Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government

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