Gauteng: The Gauteng Department of Health has announced the temporary closure of the Rustervaal Clinic for safety reasons stemming from infrastructural challenges. During this closure, patients are advised to access health services from nearby public health facilities. Additionally, there will be daily transportation via the Gauteng Scheduled Emergency Transport (G-SET) to and from Rustervaal Clinic to Market Avenue Clinic in Vereeniging from Monday to Friday at 8 am.

According to South African Government News Agency, the clinic, which serves the community of Emfuleni, including Rochnee, Springcol, and the Ramaphosa informal settlement, closed on Monday. The Department of Employment and Labour has issued a prohibition notice preventing the use of the clinic until the infrastructural challenges, such as dilapidated sections of the building, a collapsing ceiling in one of the rooms, and a poor electrical network in another section, are addressed.

The Gauteng Department of Health has affirmed its commitment to resolving these infrastructural issues at Rustervaal Clinic as part of the broader Infrastructure Revitalisation Plan currently underway across all five health districts in the province. The plan includes both rehabilitating existing infrastructure and constructing new facilities to meet increasing demand.

It is not yet clear how long the clinic will remain closed, as this will depend on a full assessment of the facility and budget reallocation. However, as part of the commitment to expand healthcare access for the growing community of Emfuleni, work is already underway to convert Johan Heyns Community Health Centre (CHC) into a district hospital. This conversion aims to improve access to quality healthcare by expanding primary health care and specialist services, ultimately reducing the volume of referrals to Sebokeng Regional Hospital.