A female psychiatric patient was tragically killed in a fire that broke out at the George Mukhari Academic hospital in Ga-Rankuwa on Monday night, authorities said.
The 35-year-old patient who suffered burns in the female psychiatric unit, lost her life.
Gauteng health department spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, said a small fire broke out in the seclusion room at around 6.35pm.
“Immediate actions were taken to safeguard the safety and wellbeing of patients. The fire was quickly contained and extinguished by the fire brigade, but unfortunately the patient in the seclusion room sustained fatal injuries,” he said.
At least 17 other patients in the unit were successfully evacuated and temporarily relocated to a different wing of the psychiatric department as a precautionary measure.
Modiba said the incident had been reported to the South African Police Service for further investigation, and that the cause of the fire was still unknown at this stage.
“The department wishes to extend our deepest condolences to the patient’s family as they mourn the sudden passing of their daughter. Both the bereaved family and the families of the 17 patients will be taken through a debriefing. Counselling services will also be made available to them,” he said.
The deceased was admitted to the hospital last Thursday and was placed in a seclusion room on June 24 as part of her prescribed treatment
Spokesperson for Tshwane Emergency Services Department, Charles Mabaso, said his department was notified of the incident at approximately 6.44pm and immediately dispatched firefighting resources to the scene. “Firefighters arrived on the scene to find that the hospital staff had already extinguished the fire in a single isolation ward using portable fire extinguishers.”
He said the deceased was certified dead by a medical doctor on the scene.
Mabaso confirmed that other patients, who were safely evacuated to another psychiatric ward, escaped unharmed.
“Firefighters conducted positive pressure ventilation to rid the ward of excessive smoke,” he said.
Pretoria News