A legal battle is looming after health and safety inspectors from the labour department shut down Frere Hospital in East London amid concerns that its measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 are inadequate, according to a report in DispatchLive.
The department and province's health authorities are set to battle it out over whether labour safety provisions trump the hospital's mandate to provide healthcare and the public's right to treatment during a pandemic.
On Friday, Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo confirmed to DispatchLive it had lodged an urgent court interdict to challenge the notice issued by labour department officials.
The prohibition notice to shut down the hospital was served on Frere Hospital's acting CEO, James Thomas, on Tuesday by labour inspector Apiwe Maxontana, the report said.
It added the labour department had not backed down amid efforts by the hospital's management, with the director-general of the labour department, Thobile Lamati, refusing to withdraw the notice for closure.
