Concerns rise over recurring fires at Tembisa Tertiary Hospital
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in Gauteng has expressed concern over the recurring fire outbreaks at the Tembisa Tertiary Hospital. The hospital experienced the second blaze on the morning of Wednesday April 23, 2025 after the first incident occurred on Saturday, April 19 2025.
The initial fire damaged the recently renovated Accident and Emergency Unit, destroying computer systems, patient files, and forced the hospital into a diversion mode, not admitting new patients. The hospital services over 1 million patients from the Tembisa area, the East Rand and the province at large.
This is the second public hospital in the province to catch a devastating fire in recent times after the one at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in April 2021.
Government still has to mobilise funds to revive the hospital and the ailing healthcare sector as a whole.The extent of the damage is still under investigation.
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla and the Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and other health officials are expected to visit the hospital to establish the extent of the damage and make a determination on how the national office could support the province to lessen the impact on access to essential healthcare.
The EFF’s Dumisane Baleni said: “Medical personnel were unable to efficiently attend to patients due to the chaos, compounded by compromised medical records. Over 83 patients previously treated in these units were relocated to a makeshift casualty area, while many remain disoriented, with little understanding of the evolving situation.”
The party has called for the provincial government to launch an immediate independent and transparent investigation into the fires at the hospital to check safety compliance, including fire hydrants, extinguishers and alarm systems and to also establish whether these incidents were due to foul play or neglect by the leadership.
Baleni said: “Those responsible must be exposed and brought to justice. We further support the call for the involvement of State Intelligence to get to the root of this matter and prevent future sabotage of our healthcare facilities.”