Government steps in to address linen shortage at Baragwanath Hospital

The Gauteng Department of Health has intervened in a shortage of linen at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.

On Thursday, the department said a team of infrastructure technicians was working with the appointed contractor to restore laundry services to full capacity as speedily as possible.

“The breakdown of the machines has temporarily affected the normal running of the laundry services,” it said.

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Temporary measures to sustain linen supply

The Central Hospital Board and Aid Association (CHBAH) assigned two teams of workers to work day and night shifts at Dunswart Laundries, ensuring a steady supply of clean linen for patients.

“It is important to note that the laundry machines at the hospital are ageing and have reached the end of their operational lifespan.

“Despite multiple repairs, the machines fail, necessitating their complete replacement,” the department added.

To get funds for the purchase of new washing equipment, the department has already presented a business case to the National Department of Health (NDoH) and the Gauteng Provincial Treasury (GPT).

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Continuous service despite equipment failure

According to the department, providing patients with clean linens is important and if their system experiences mechanical problems, other steps will be taken to keep the service running.

Furthermore, the National Department of Health accepted the Gauteng Health Department’s request, and new machine installations will commence when finance is provided.

“The team of technicians will keep performing essential repairs to the existing machines to maintain operations at the laundry and to mitigate the impact on service delivery while the funding issue is being finalised to enable the procurement of new laundry equipment,” concluded the Gauteng Health Department.

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