A water shortage at Tshilidzini Hospital at Tshisaulu village outside Thohoyandou in Vhembe, Limpopo is  posing a serious life challenges to the patients and staff members.

This was revealed by concerned patients, nurses and the cleaners during an exclusive interview with Health-e News on Monday.

One of the affected patients, who chose to remain anonymous for fear of victimization, said she got discharged from the hospital on May 27, “because of the unbearable conditions” she was exposed to in the private ward she was admitted in.

The patient said she there was no water at the hospital on May 23 when she was admitted.

“When I arrived at the hospital I found other patients complaining about lack of water in the hospital.

“Some said the problem has been going on for three weeks. When I was there little water would come from the taps at the maternity ward in the morning before it get finished in the afternoon,” said the patient.

A nurse, who also chose to remain anonymous, said the situation was frustrating to them as they cannot clean helpless patients as they are expected because of lack of water.

“This situation is very frustrating.  How can we be expected to store water on buckets so that we can clean the patients? This is very unfair, ” said the concerned nurse.

A cleaner who also chose to remain anonymous said they were struggling to keep the ward clean because of this problem of water shortage.

She said most of the time the little water that comes from the taps is dirty.

A community member who went to the hospital to check his relative said he was shocked to see nurses helping patients to take pills with water that was kept on open buckets.

The spokesperson for the department of health and social development, Nonhlanhla Gumede, said she will give comment “after getting the correct information from the hospital.”

One community members said the challenge of water shortage is also serious in the surrounding villages of Itsani, Maungani and Tshisaulu.