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Kempton Park Hospital Haunted
On 26 December 1996, the provincial government of Gauteng, led by then-Health MEC Amos Masondo, closed the doors to the Kempton Park Hospital, east of Johannesburg. The 350-bed facility was the largest hospital in the region. It cost just under R30 million to construct and had equipment worth R10 million.
The government shut the hospital doors, claiming it was underused and a waste of state money to keep it running. Since the hospital’s closing, there has been a high demand for healthcare in the area, which put pressure on the Tembisa Hospital, as the residents of Kempton Park resorted to using the Tembisa Tertiary Hospital.
In a country with a massive shortage of healthcare facilities, it was shortsighted for the government to claim that the hospital was underused. In contrast, clinics and hospitals in South Africa, in general, need more beds and medication.
Since the 350-bed hospital closed 26 years and ten months ago, the government decided to lock it all inside instead of redeploying the available equipment inside the building. Since then, a lot has been stolen, and the building has been vandalized.
The Kempton Park Hospital was also in the spotlight before it was closed when high school dropout “Dr” Andre Esterhuizen pretended to be a pediatrician and worked there from 1982 to 1992. Dozens of children died…
