Those who were injured during or after the explosion that occurred at the Johannesburg CBD on Wednesday evening remain hospitalised in healthcare centres across the city.
This is according to Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, during a visit to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital where most of the patients are receiving care.
The explosion ripped through Bree Street in the CBD and left one person dead and more than 40 others injured.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said at least 11 patients remain hospitalised.
“We have received these patients and they are receiving medical treatment. We want to appreciate that there was a good response from our teams in all the hospitals. We want to thank them…for the good work they have done in making sure that even the critical ones who were referred here are stable now,” she said.
The hospital’s head of trauma Professor Maeyane Moeng gave an update on the wellbeing of the patients.
“From where we are as a hospital…all of [the patients] are stable and are well. We will be preparing to get them the wards moving forward. They might require some intervention later related to the lower limbs. It is good to know that most of our patients are stable and are doing well.
“It is a team approach…if we are not ready for such mass casualty events then we will not be able to help. These things will happen one way or the other for various reasons and the team that was behind us has worked very hard,” he said.
Moeng said healthcare workers have pleaded with citizens to refrain from entering areas where dangerous events such as explosions have occurred.
“When we have such mass events like these and people are requested to vacate from these incidents, can we listen please? When we have an incident like this and we are asking the community to move away and they hold onto the events, if something else happens after that, we are going to have much more casualties than what we’ve seen.
“This is not the only incident that we’ve seen that the communities are not listening to the safety guidelines. Please, as healthcare workers, we are pleading with you, that please when you are asked by those looking after safety and security at these scenes, that’s not a time for pictures, that’s not a time for cameras, that’s a time for safety so that we can evacuate and deal with those that are injured at the scene,” he said.
The hospital’s CEO Gladys Bogoshi, in her capacity as Cluster Head of Facilities in the area assured that hospitals are ready and on high alert should any more incidents related to the explosion were to occur.
“In Johannesburg we’ve got two academic hospitals…Charlotte Maxeke and Chris Hani Baragwanath. They have highly specialised trauma trained doctors. They are not only trauma trained but they are also disaster management trained,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
