Joburg hospital sees rise in foreign births

The South Rand Hospital in Johannesburg has noted a significant increase of births to foreign mothers.

Johannesburg - The South Rand Hospital in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, has noted a significant increase of births to foreign mothers at the facility, the Gauteng health department has revealed.

Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu said 843 of the 3042 babies (28%) born at the hospital had been delivered by mothers who are not South African citizens.

In a written reply in the Gauteng Legislature to a question from Jack Bloom DA MPL, Mahlangu said: “Most of the foreign mothers are from Zimbabwe (432), followed by Congo (134), Democratic Republic of Congo (92), Mozambique (46) and 40 each from Malawi and Nigeria”.

Bloom, who is the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, said Mahlangu in her submission said that under normal circumstances expectant mothers were assessed and relevant legal documents were requested, including medical referral letters from countries of origin for non-South African citizens.

Bloom claimed that Mahlangu had previously “exaggerated” the number of foreign patients in Gauteng hospitals by saying that very often nine out of ten patients were not South Africans.

“Future policy should be based on accurate statistics and measures that address the broader problem of why there are so many foreign patients in our hospitals, mostly from the rest of Africa,” said Bloom.

He did not say if the situation at South Rand Hospital was the same as at other hospitals in Gauteng.

ANA