Tuberculosis patients at the Yusuf Dadoo Hospital in Krugersdorp are suffering in the cold winter as heaters have been broken for six weeks.
Two out of three electric heaters are broken in the female TB ward which is in a prefabricated structure that gets very cold in winter.
There are about 25 patients in this ward who are usually there for three months as they recover from TB.
Extreme cold could be life-threatening for these patients, but the broken heaters have not been fixed even though staff have pleaded for this.
It is one more example of poor maintenance and broken equipment at Gauteng state hospitals. How difficult is it to repair or replace a heater?
I urge the Gauteng Health Department to ensure that there are functioning heaters in this TB ward as soon as possible.