Health and Wellness
With regard to severe overcrowding, long queues, excessive strain on staff and compromised service delivery at Swellendam’s clinics, particularly due to only one of the two clinics being operational:
- (a) What are the root causes for these systemic failures and (b) what immediate inter-ventions is her Department implementing to (i) reduce patient waiting times, (ii) alleviate staff burnout and (iii) repair the non-functional clinic urgently;
- whether her Department has concrete plans to expand the healthcare infrastructure in Swellendam to meet the growing demand; if so, what are the relevant details?
- (a) The current challenges stem primarily from the closure of the Railton Clinic following a fire that occurred on 18 February 2025. This incident resulted in a significant increase in patient volume at the remaining Swellendam Clinic, increasing pressure on both infrastructure and human resources. This fire is not considered a systemic failure by the Department.
(b) (i) To address overcrowding, a temporary clinical structure is currently being erected on the grounds of Swellendam Hospital to absorb excess patient volume. This structure will provide additional consulting space and is expected to be fully operational by 2 June 2025. This intervention will assist in restoring service flow and reducing waiting times for patients.
(ii) The local team is working to improve internal rostering, redeploy available staff where appropriate, and limit non-clinical burdens on clinical teams. Mental wellness and peer support strategies have been started, and new strategies are planned.
(iii) The long-term restoration of the original Railton Clinic is underway, though it will take time. The temporary units will serve as a stopgap until full restoration is possible. The Department is doing everything it can to fast-track this while managing compliance, procurement, and safety obligations.
- There are plans in place to expand Swellendam’s healthcare infrastructure to meet growing demands. Currently, an Acute Psychiatric Unit is planned to be added to the Swellendam Hospital and is set for completion in 2026.
Additionally, mobile units are, when possible, stationed at the Emergency Centre at the Swellendam Hospital to improve patient flow.
