By: Natasha Archary
Just two months after reports that Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital had run out of food broke, the public facility is rattled with yet another challenge.
Operations at Bara have had to be cancelled due to a shortage of clean linen. The DA Gauteng shadow health MEC, Jack Bloom has slammed the hospital for repeatedly deferring procedures that were scheduled months ago.
On Friday, 27 May, 30 operations at Bara were cancelled due to the sterilising machine being out of order.
While the hospital has admitted to the challenge, they say alternative arrangements to have linen washed has been made.
However, Bloom says operations have been cancelled, repeatedly for weeks on end.
In a statement Bloom said, “More than 4000 patients are on the hospital’s waiting list for surgery, but it continues to grow because of frequent equipment and power failures.
There is a whole ward of patients whose operations have been repeatedly deferred for weeks on end.
Air-conditioners and generators have failed, and now it’s the sterilising machines.
How much longer will this incompetence continue?”
Laundry shortages are common in Gauteng public hospitals because they have to use the five provincial-owned laundries which are notoriously inefficient.
The laundry machines are poorly maintained and often break down.
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