Following the breakdown of three laundry machines at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto that led to the piling up of used linen, the Gauteng Department of Health has appointed a service provider to deal with the crisis.

MAINTAINANCE

Provincial spokesperson Motalatale Modiba explained that the appointed service provider is intended to assist in repairs of the laundry machines. "The service provider will fix the laundry machines so that patients can be provided with clean linen," said Modiba. He added, "As previously alluded, the facility's laundry has an aging infrastructure, which requires an overhaul, in the meantime we have to keep on servicing the current machinery there," he said.

DO SOMETHING 

Following calls from the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) to the Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, to intervene urgently, the department is now laundering the linen at an external laundry. DENOSA Regional Chairperson Yandisa Zungula complained that cleanliness and infection control were becoming an issue for the nursing staff. "If this continues, the standard of care will continue to drop, turnaround times for clean linen remain inadequate and healthcare workers are doing their best despite the challenges, but this issue needs a long-term fix," Zungula said earlier this week.