Hospital faces laundry crisis

CLAIMS that Hlabisa Hospital is drying laundry outdoors owing to broken laundry machines needs to be investigated says the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

In a statement the IFP expressed its concern about the Department of Health neglecting laundry services at provincial hospitals.

It said if the Health MEC, Dr Sbongiseni Dhlomo, was serious about his department’s turnaround strategy, he needed to prioritise this matter, as the cleanliness of a hospital is a matter of life and death.

‘The MEC must appoint a new company to take over from the current one, which has failed dismally to make sure that laundry machines are working properly,’ said the statement.

It has been reported that some of the machines in Hlabisa have been out of order for more than a year, but nothing has been done to repair them,’ said IFP spokesperson on health, Ncamisile Nkwanyana.

‘The hospital has several laundry machines, but only three are working properly, which has resulted in the hospital unable to cope with the bulk of the laundry.

‘The MEC must intervene urgently,’ said Nkwanyana.

‘In addition, he must conduct an audit to determine how many hospitals are in a similar position like Hlabisa Hospital.’