Gauteng Health Dept won’t provide patients with mobile facility when Khutsong West Clinic closes
It has instead encouraged them to use alternative facilities within a six-kilometre radius, where patients will be transferred.
Environmental activist Jeremiah Ramokgoatedi intends to legally challenge the municipality after numerous requests for help fell on deaf ears. Picture: Jabulile Mbatha/Eyewitness News
JOHANNEBURG - The Gauteng Department of Health said it would not provide Khutsong West Clinic patients with a mobile facility once the centre affected by a sinkhole closes on 1 May.
It has instead encouraged them to use alternative facilities within a six-kilometre radius, where patients will be transferred.
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The department has also made it clear that it will not provide transport to the other facilities for patients.
The Khutsong West Clinic is facing its second closure due to a sinkhole, after its doors were shut from 2009 until 2012 for a similar reason.
After inspections and renovations, the facility was declared safe for use by geologists from the Council of Geoscience.
However, on 8 January, houses at the Rest In Peace section caved in due to a sinkhole, which equally posed a risk to the clinic’s safety.
The Khutsong West Clinic serves four wards with a population of over 9,000 people.
Gauteng department spokesperson Motalta Modiba said those who will have difficulty accessing alternative clinics will be provided health services in their homes.