Centurion Hospice is grappling with repeated sewage leaks that flood the property.
A large sinkhole on Clifton Avenue, adjacent to the hospice, necessitated that a sewage line be diverted around it but this fix has created further problems. Now the metro is building a bridge over the sinkhole in an effort to solve it.
On Tuesday morning, April 16, hospice staff arrived at their workplace flooded with sewage.
“We have patients that are immuno-compromised,” said hospice spokesperson, Hyla van den Berg.
“This is a major concern for us.”
The hospice has 16 beds for terminally ill patients and usually cares for them during the last 14 days of life.
“We work completely on donations from the public, from our restaurant, and from catering services we provide. What you see here is what keeps the hospital open,” said Van den Berg.
“We keep patients comfortable and pain-free, and keep them at peace.”
She said that families and patients who come to the hospital might doubt the integrity of the facility, despite the care and urgent attention staff are giving to the problem.
“I have to convince people that we are okay and that they should come. We are fighting huge rumours at the moment,” she said.
“The sinkhole already compromises people coming here, this is just another problem to add to the list.”
For four years, a sinkhole on Clifton Avenue and Potgieter Road partially isolated the facility before the road was reopened and rehabilitated.
However, soon after another sinkhole formed about 150m down the road.
“It costs us as every time it floods we have to get someone out to sanitise the property,” said hospice manager, Marius Bester.
“We have to make the experience for the patients and their families as memorable as possible.
This must be a space that represents comfort, love, and care.”
The hospice welcomes donations of cleaning aids and chemicals, as it has to dispose of its stock after flooding because of contamination.
Ward 57 councillor David Farquharson said that the sinkhole has been a headache for residents and businesses in the area.
Farquharson said as the sinkhole continued to grow, temporary solutions had to be found.
He said when the earth gave way, it exposed water supply and effluent lines that now remain hanging in the air instead of being in the ground.
According to Farquharson, most can remain suspended in the hole for some distance but shorter ones, including stormwater and sewerage had to be diverted around.
He said this had proved ineffective so now a bridge over the hole needs to be built to support the lines.
“It is a very elegant [delicate] solution, which has taken a while because of the weather.”
Farquharson said that the sinkhole repair could cost as much as R30-million.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said that the sewerage and stormwater lines are being rerouted and the work should be completed by April 29, if the weather permits it.
He said the sinkhole was top of the list for repairs but the details would only become available once the geotechnical investigations were complete.
“Further cracks appeared south of the sinkhole after the recent rains but we believe the risk of further expansion will be arrested once this rerouting is complete.”
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