By Kouthar Sambo

The plan to relocate the Hanover Park Day Hospital to Philippi has created an uproar among locals on the ground.

This comes after last month’s growing concerns of residents about the possible shutdown of the Hanover Park Day Hospital.

Irate locals handed over a memorandum to the Department of Health requesting that the community be consulted first.

“We got a response letter from the Hanover Park Health Committee, and the response was that we acknowledge the receipt of the member of the communication. However, it is worth mentioning that health services remain in the current Hidalgo Park community site,” said the Health Chairperson of the Hanover Park Day Hospital Maureen Augustine.

The Western Cape Department of Health provides health services to the head of community members within the health department here and surrounding areas profitably, explained Maureen, but health services access is not aligned.

She went on to describe that as a health community, they decided to provide information on the public participation process, including the date, agendas, and attendees of public engagement. This includes the provision of minutes of the management meeting to relocate the facility.

“I would like to see the approval of the residing cost and the land board for the community, as well as the projected cost of the new hospital. I also want to see the information provided about which options were available before the department decided to relocate the property outside Hanover Park,” asserted Maureen.

Furthermore, the public is questioning why the facility is being relocated to another crime-ridden area which will require the vulnerable elderly residents from Hanover Park to utilize their pensions to travel to Philippi for their health needs.

Considering the health care the Hanover Park Day Hospital provides, this decision, according to Maureen, is rather “insane.”

“The community has not been consulted on the matter of relocating the Hanover Park Hospital to Philippi. This will leave the community without access to vital medical services, especially the healthcare needs of the elderly,” reiterated Maureen.

Furthermore, Maureen remained adamant that the Department of Health exercises transparency, and provides locals on the ground with the necessary information by speaking to the community and the Hanover Park Health Committee directly.

“We want to know why they reached this decision when we have openly accepted people from different surrounding areas to our Hanover Park hospital for years, and there were no issues. Nobody has ever been hurt in this hospital, shot or killed since the hospital is situated where there are no gangsters,” added Maureen.

*VOC has contacted the City of Cape Town, but City officials have not responded.

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