The KwaZulu-Natal health department is set to take over Durban’s 104-year-old McCord Hospital by the end of January next year.

McCord Hospital in Durban will be sold to the government in a deal that will be concluded next year.

Government officials and McCord Hospital’s board picked up negotiations as a court interdict has stalled the health facility’s closure.

The National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union has claimed that an interim court interdict has been granted, despite others rejecting this.

Nehawu will apply for an emergency interdict to stop McCord Hospital’s board from closing down the facility.

For 100 years Durban’s non-profit McCord Hospital has been a beacon of hope for the poor. Now it has to rely on the state to survive.