Paarl Mediclinic ICU unit will be fully operational from Wednesday after roof collapse due to heavy rains

Floods hit the Western Cape town of Paarl on Monday. Picture: Twitter

Floods hit the Western Cape town of Paarl on Monday. Picture: Twitter

Published Dec 13, 2022

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Cape Town - Mediclinic in Paarl, whose roof collapsed due to heavy rainfall on Monday, said the affected ward will be fully operational by Wednesday.

According to Mediclinic Southern Africa’s clinical officer, Dr Gerrit de Villiers, unusual excessive rainfall in the Winelands region resulted in the damage to the ceiling of the hospital’s ICU unit.

He said the Paarl hospital was the only one affected by the rain in the group.

“A small number of patients were relocated to other areas of the hospital as a result of damage to the ceiling in the ICU unit.

“The ceiling will be repaired today without any exceptional costs expected, with operations returning to normal tomorrow, December 14, 2022,” De Villiers said.

He said no other units of the hospital were affected and “three patients were transferred to another Mediclinic hospital to ensure they continue to receive the necessary levels of care”.

“We thank the nursing teams, emergency and other support services for their support during this time,” De Villiers added.

The area experienced heavy rains, flash floods and thunderstorms, with the South African Weather Service predicting rainfall of 70mm-80mm in 20 minutes.

By late afternoon, residents and businesses were conducting clean-up operations.

The Drankenstein Municipality spokesperson, Riana Geldenhuys said several areas were also affected by power outages due to the storm.

@iolnews Heavy rain caused flash flooding in parts of Gauteng and the Western Cape. #SAMA28 #fyp #flood #sowetoflood #southafricanfloods ♬ ■ News News-Drone-IT-AI(963995) - ImoKenpi-Dou

robin.francke@inl.co.za

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