The Nkhensani Hospital in Giyani, Limpopo, is affected by a water crisis in the town after the Nsami Dam started drying up, according to a report on Monday.

The Sowetan reported the hospital had been relying on the municipality to deliver water in water tanks.

A nurse, who asked not to be named, told the newspaper that the hospital had not had water in three months.

“We can’t even wash newborn babies and unfortunately most of them get discharged still covered in blood,” the nurse said.

“We are extremely worried because infection control is compromised and there’s little we can do.”

The hospital’s CEO refused to comment. While the Limpopo health department spokeswoman Sinenhlanhla Gumede said the municipality needed to supply the hospital with water.

“Water is not a competency of the health department, so we are working closely with the municipality to ensure that we have sufficient water tank supplies while they try to solve the water crisis,” Gumede said.

Mopani district municipality spokesman Neil Shikwambani said the equipment needed to use borehole supplies in the Nsami Dam were either broken or stolen. He said they wanted to extract water from the mud and purify it, but the pressure was too low.

“We are looking at using fixed water tanks to be located at specific spots… It’s a dire situation,” he told the Sowetan.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/limpopo/limpopo-hospital-without-water-1.1426279