The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in the North West has strongly criticised the provincial government’s failure to maintain healthcare infrastructure, highlighting deteriorating facilities, unsafe working conditions, overcrowding, and persistent water shortages that are compromising patient and staff safety.
Provincial Nehawu secretary Zanele Lawu described the challenges as a systemic issue that has built up over years and requires urgent intervention. “There’s a deteriorating infrastructure, unsafe working conditions and overcrowded wards in the hospitals,” Lawu said. “We are saying that this is a systemic matter that has built up over the years and that needs to be dealt with on an urgent basis.”
The union pointed to specific problems at various health institutions. At Klerksdorp Hospital (referred to as Kexpan in the report), the quality of water is questionable, yet patients, staff, and the community are expected to consume it. At Mahikeng Provincial Hospital (also called Mafikeng Provincial Hospital), there was no hot water despite the recent purchase of two large geysers intended to serve the entire facility.
“Water shortages in public health institutions has become a serious matter that needs to be attended on an urgent basis, failing which we will see the collapse of the public health care system in the province,” Lawu warned.
Overcrowding is exacerbating the strain on healthcare workers. In one ward designed for 46 patients, numbers had swelled to about 76, while staffing levels remained unchanged. This overload is leading to compromised quality of care and staff burnout, as nurses handle workloads meant for two or three people simultaneously.
Nehawu further accused the government of neglecting infrastructure inherited from the apartheid era. “It cannot be that over 30 years government has not invested in ensuring that they maintain the infrastructure that we inherited from the government of Apartheid,” Lawu stated. “This is a clear demonstration that our government has done nothing up to so far to ensure that these facilities are maintained.” The union called for an end to budget cuts, which it said are directly contributing to the current crisis.
In response, the North West Provincial Health Department acknowledged infrastructure challenges but emphasised that action is being taken. The department stated that 39% of the infrastructure budget has been channelled towards maintenance this financial year. It also confirmed that water has been restored at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital after a temporary shortage caused by low pressure from boreholes, following collaboration with the local municipality.
“Notwithstanding the general budget cuts which are affecting everyone across the country and in particular in the province, the department is doing all it could to ensure we are able to attend to maintenance,” a departmental spokesperson said. “I know for example about 20 million rand has been set aside to address maintenance issues at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital this financial year.”
Nehawu has called for immediate and decisive action to prevent further deterioration of the province’s public healthcare system.