Tembisa Hospital fires: Phaahla believes there's no link despite awaiting forensic report

JOHANNESBURG - The Department of Health has ruled out any connection between Wednesday's fire and the one that occurred over the weekend at Tembisa Hospital.

The confirmation came from Deputy Minister Joe Phaahla during an oversight visit to the facility, where he assessed the extent of the damage and discussed possible recovery plans.

Wednesday’s blaze broke out around 5am, severely damaging the outpatients’ unit, including the area where patient records were stored. The weekend fire had ravaged the emergency unit, destroying vital medical equipment.

Despite the similarities, Phaahla has confirmed that the two incidents are not related.

“While we are waiting for the experts, from a lay person’s observation is that there is no direct linkage.”

He added that “whatever the forensics will find in terms of what triggered the fire”, they “are of the view that unless proven otherwise, what is quite apparent is that something else happened”.

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TEMBISA FIRES INVESTIGATION SNAG

Investigations into the two fires may face a major setback, as it has emerged that there is no clear CCTV footage available.

Emergency services managed to contain Wednesday’s blaze without injuries or loss of life. 

However, an undisclosed number of patient files were destroyed, affecting administrative operations.

Senior health officials visited the facility to assess the damage and discuss the way forward.

The prospect of a swift and conclusive investigation appears uncertain. 

While some security cameras on site are functional, they did not capture footage of the affected areas.

This applies to both units damaged in the fires: the emergency unit and the outpatients’ section.

The hospital’s acting CEO, Dr Rianna Louw, explained: “I don’t think we will be able to rely on the CCTV footage coverage, because like I said, there is only that vague one that we got from a distance. So we will have to rely on the forensic investigation.”

The financial impact of the damage has not yet been calculated, but estimates could run into the millions.