For months, doctors and nurses have raised their concerns over a rat infestation in the paediatric unit of Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha. 

A spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Department of Health, Yonela Dekeda, said they think the rats were born in the pipes of the old laboratory at the hospital. 

After questions were asked by Daily Maverick about the rat infestation she said: “The issue is being attended to by the department as a matter of urgency. There is currently a fumigation contractor on site to clear the rats, with the paediatric ward most affected. 

“The rats may have been hatched in the pipes of the old lab system. Poison has been placed at outside entrances to eliminate the rats and also prevent more rats from getting into the facility,” she said.  

“The maintenance department is also assessing options that include removing the pipe system.”

Rat infestation at Dora Nginza Hospital. (Photo: Supplied screengrab)

Hospital sources said they were raising their concerns over the safety of especially the babies in their care for months now as the rats increased in size and numbers.

At the end of 2022, a delegation from the Health Portfolio Committee visited Dora Nginza Hospital and remarked on how dirty and unkept the hospital was. At the time, concerns were raised over a similar rat infestation at the nearby Livingstone Hospital.

Dora Nginza Hospital has 627 beds of which 596 are in use. It is the specialist centre for maternal and paediatric health in the western part of the province.

The Eastern Cape Department of Health has stressed on a number of occasions that increasing demand for neonatal services cannot be met as they have neither the physical nor the human resources available. There is severe overcrowding in neonatal units and this has led to an increase in mortality due to hospital-acquired infections. The hospital houses the only six-bed ICU unit for the entire western part of the province, which includes the large inland areas like the Karoo and the Sunshine Coast. 

According to statistics provided to Parliament last year, two children or infants a week who need ICU care are turned away. There are also no paediatric high-care beds. 

The committee also heard that inadequate fencing allows criminals and livestock to access the hospital, the roof leaks in multiple places and the laundry is unable to cope with the volume of dirty linen.

According to a report issued by the Portfolio Committee, they were also concerned that the 40-bedded paediatric unit must sometimes accommodate 70 beds as this overcrowding could lead to infection outbreaks.

Rats running free at Dora Nginza Hospital. (Photo: Supplied screengrab)

Their report continued: “There is no proper space for laundry services; laundry is sorted in front of the lifts. There is only one official responsible for laundry, kitchen, security, cleaning, and the garden, due to staff shortages. The mortuary was closed due to staff shortages.

“The facilities’ infrastructure was in poor condition. Members of the Committee were concerned that it was an occupational health and safety hazard. The hospital, in general, was very dirty and unkempt.

“There is a lack of maintenance and cleaning, attributed to the moratorium on the appointment of non-clinical staff. Toilets used by patients were described as disgusting by members of the Committee. The perimeter fence is broken,” the report issued by the Portfolio Committee reads.

Concerns over the cleanliness of the hospital were also raised by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in 2022 after a hospital outbreak of a rare strain of bacterial infection. 

Rat infestation at Dora Nginza Hospital. (Photo: Supplied screengrab)

“Factors are shown to contribute to the persistence of the organism and ongoing transmission during outbreaks include suboptimal infection prevention and control practice (particularly hand hygiene and contact precautions), inadequate cleaning and disinfection of the environment and medical equipment, understaffing, and overcrowding,” the report read. 

After the visit of the portfolio committee, a budget of R38-million has been approved for infrastructure over the next three years. DM