Ever since the hospital caught fire over two years ago, it's been one complaint after another. According to DA shadow councillor for health Jack Bloom patients are being fed food that is not nutritious. He claims that sometimes there is a shortage of food and if not, the food is cooked, frozen and later warmed up and given to patients. "I am getting complaints about very watery food that is unappetising and lacks variety. On Friday there was mixed vegetables, fish, and spinach for lunch that many patients found inedible. For supper they had  spinach, carrot, mashed potato, and a mystery meat,"added Bloom.

FOOD A MAJOR CONCERN

He said the watery food is from the Gauteng Health Department's Masakhane Cook Freeze Factory. "In April this year, the then Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi said that there is limited plates or meal variety for each diet code and thus there is a lot of repetition of the meals. The factory states that they have supply chain challenges and thus a shortage of stock the factory also has challenges with faulty equipment, intermittent water, electricity supply and shortages of staff."

COOK AND FREEZE METHOD NOT SUITABLE

Bloom said it was  disappointing that there has been no improvement in the food at this major hospital. "Sick people need good nutrition to assist in their recovery. However, the cook-freeze method is unsuitable for hospital food as it destroys nutrients. The hospital should not be forced to use the poorly managed Masakhane for the sake of their patients."Bloom said it was unfair for patients to be given tasteless food just because they are in a public hospital.
"There is a budget for food in hospitals, if a contractor can't deliver then they should be removed it's that simple. Patients also deserve healthy and tasty food."

AIRCON BROKEN

Meanwhile the aircon at the very same hospital is reported to be broken. Bloom said surgeons were operating in dangerously high heat in the theatres.
"This is the second major hospital to experience air-conditioning failure in the recent hot weather. It is risky operating in high temperatures as it increases the risk of infection, but surgeons are reluctant to cancel operations at CMJH as there are long surgery waiting lists," he said.
Bloom said  the major victims are patients whose operations are cancelled and staff who are stressed out of their minds by the poor conditions which they work under