04 Apr 2017

The faulty generator in Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital was due to a leakage in its crankshaft seal, the Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele has said.

Mr Makgalemele said the generator was put out of service for safety reasons adding that the seal was currently being replaced. Furthermore, he said according to their plan the generator would be fully operational by the end of this month.

Responding to a question in Parliament on Monday, Mr Makgalemele said he was also aware of the air conditioning situation in the hospital stating that the major fault resulting in the malfunction of the air conditioning system had been identified and being rectified.

He said a contractor was currently on site working on the syste, indicating that maintenance works being carried out on the air conditioning system would restore the necessary cooling in the laboratories.

The assistant minister said with respect to the roof leakages at Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital, his ministry had rolled out a tender for facilities management consultants to address these problems.

“The tender is expected to be awarded by mid-April 2017.
Scope of work to be carried out includes a thorough audit of the facility, findings from which will inform and facilitate the award of maintenance tenders,” he said.

Mr Makgalemele stated that maintenance work was expected to commence during the second quarter of 2017.

Furthermore, the assistant minister said the inadequate power supply from the standby generators would be addressed after fixing the leaking seal and servicing the generators.

MP for Maun East, Mr Kostantinos Markus had asked the minister if he was aware that out of the two generators at Letsholathebe hospital one was working and if so when would the other one be maintained and brought back to use.

The MP further asked if he was aware that air conditioners were not working causing excess heat on wards and laboratory.

In addition, MP Markus wanted to know if the assistant minister was aware that in most cases laboratory equipment failed to work because of the heat adding that there were serious leaks when it rained causing serious health hazards to patients, workers, friends and relatives visiting their loved ones.

Again, he also asked him if he was aware of the inadequate power supply and cost because of one generator and that the hospital services were disrupted posing a serious threat to the lives of patients. ENDS