Hospital uses cardboard on patients with bone fractures amid shortages of plaster of Paris
According to DA’s Gauteng Shadow Health MEC Jack Bloom, the hospital does not have the plaster of Paris to set broken limbs and bone fractures.
He said a simple ankle fracture can be treated with plaster of Paris that costs R100, but surgery that costs about R10 000 is often the only alternative when there is no plaster. Bloom added it was unclear why the hospital was unable to procure plaster of Paris, which is a common product with alternative suppliers.
This is not the first time the hospital finds itself in the spotlight. In April this year, disgruntled staff members shut down the health facility as they said government needed to step in to address the many challenges impacting the level of care provided at the facility.The workers called for urgent reform at the hospital.