Only 11 health facilities in Gauteng still affected by telephone lines not working - GP Health Dept

JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng Health Department says only 11 hospitals remain affected by phone lines not working.

For several weeks, telephone lines at several Gauteng hospitals have not been working due to the alleged non-payment of bills by the provincial health department.

Some 32 hospitals and 83 clinics were initially reported to have been affected, said the Democratic Alliance in a Tuesday statement.

The provincial health department, however, reports that as of Tuesday, only 11 of its facilities are currently impacted.

These include Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pholosong Hospital, Far East Rand Hospital and Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital.

The Democratic Alliance’s Jack Bloom condemned the Gauteng Health Department for not settling its bill with Telkom.

"It's really appalling that after five weeks, the Gauteng Health Department has still not paid its telephone bills. It's just a simple thing to pay bills on time. Why can't they do this and ensure that an essential communication service like telephones at hospitals is operational?"

Meanwhile, the provincial health department has pledged to settle its outstanding bills by the end of this week.

In a statement, the department said the Telkom lines were off due "payment queries lodged on invoices submitted by the service provider" and that the department was working on a long-term solution that would help save communication costs.

The department's Motalatale Modiba said that until the issue was resolved, alternative contact numbers for health facilities whose lines were not working were accessible via its website.