Damage to Meiringspoort
Health authorities in the Western Cape have launched an emergency transport blueprint to ensure vulnerable patients in the Central Karoo can still access vital specialist medical care, following catastrophic storms that severed the province's main transport arteries.
Severe weather in May unleashed widespread devastation across the region, triggering an estimated R9 billion infrastructure crisis. Among the worst affected are the strategic Meiringspoort and Uniondale Pass routes. Their sudden closure completely blocked the traditional pathways used by HealthNET—the provincial non-emergency patient transport service—to take patients to George Regional Hospital for critical operations and specialist check-ups.
In response to the unprecedented gridlock, HealthNET crews are navigating grueling, significantly longer diversion routes to reach George. Where these detours are completely unfeasible, patients are being rerouted to Worcester Hospital. To cope with the mounting crisis, emergency funding has been injected directly into Emergency Medical Services (EMS) within the Garden Route District to keep operations afloat under intense logistical strain.
Visiting frontline teams in George this week, MEC for Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, praised the resilience of the emergency services.
