Health and Wellness
- Whether her Department can provide an update on the operational status of the Railton Clinic in Swellendam; if not, why not; if so;
- whether the clinic is currently fully operational; if so, what services are currently being provided at the facility?
(1) Railton Clinic in Swellendam is currently not operational following damage caused by a fire during a maintenance project undertaken through the Department of Infrastructure. Work is underway to return the facility to a safe and reliable state so that routine services can resume. The original maintenance contract was terminated due to poor performance after a substantial portion of the work had been certified. The remaining works will now be completed through a follow-on completion project, which is currently being processed. In the interim, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness Engineering and Technical Services team has undertaken additional maintenance to address key compliance and safety issues in other parts of the building not included in the Department of Infrastructure project.
(2) No. The clinic is not currently fully operational. Services have been temporarily diverted to the clinic on the hospital grounds. An additional prefab structure and workspace have been provided to support the increased patient load, and this arrangement will remain in place until Railton Clinic reopens.
The Department of Health and Wellness, in partnership with the Mobility Department and the Swellendam Taxi Association, launched the free patient transport pilot service for Railton residents to Swellendam Clinic, ensuring access to care while the Railton Clinic is being rebuilt.
