/ 18 February 1999

N PROVINCE HOSPITAL TO CLOSE

THE St Joseph’s Hospital in Doornspruit, Northern Province, has been forced to close down after its government subsidy was cut. Provincial health spokesperson Tsepo Moshima said on Thursday the department cut the subsidy of R2-million a year as it had no control over the hospital’s operations. “We’ve been [talking to] hospital management and [decided] we could not continue funding because no agreement had been reached on the function of the hospital,” he said. He said the department was not happy with the standard of primary health care offered at the hospital. It will close at the end of March.