The Health Department has dismissed a claim that the Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg has a rat problem.
The Health Department has dismissed a claim that the Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg has a rat problem.
This comes after “The Mercury” reported last week that patients at RK Khan Hospital in Chatsworth had reported that monkeys were harassing people at the hospital.
The KZN Department of Health (DoH) had said at the time that systems were in place to keep the monkeys out of the building.
Asked about the rats at Northdale Hospital, department spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said: “The allegations are unfortunate and, to the best of our knowledge, devoid of truth.
“The department places utmost importance on infection prevention and control at all its health-care facilities.”
But resident, Cheryl Fourie said she saw the rats in Northdale Hospital when she was admitted as a patient in February.
“The whole night, they were climbing over the rubbish bin and my suitcase, it was horrible.”
She also said that the rats even entered patients’ lockers where some of them kept their food.
Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) KZN chairperson, Sibonelo Cele, said there was a rat problem at Northdale Hospital; it had been fumigated but the rats returned.
“I confirmed with our shop stewards that the hospital has a problem with rats. They say that the rats multiply too quickly and they do not know where they are coming from,” Cele said.
He also said that the hospital had been fumigated but the rats returned.
“What I can propose is that the hospital change the fumigation contractor. We are still going to engage the management on the issue and try to find a solution,” said Cele.
Edwin Baptie, DA KZN spokesperson on Health said the party was inundated with complaints about the lack of sanitation and patient care at KZN government hospitals.
“One such complaint relates to what appears to be a rat infestation in the wards of Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital.”
According to a recent parliamentary reply to the DA, regarding the hospital’s rat problem, the department said the problem had been reported in January this year and a service provider had been selected to manage the challenge.
The Mercury
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