Gauteng Health gets R100m boost to fix hospital equipment and laundry services
The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has welcomed the injection of much-needed financial resources to help it tackle the ongoing challenges posed by ageing machinery and critical equipment across hospitals, particularly in laundry services, which requires an overhaul.
Currently, Bheki Mlangeni Hospital, which relies on laundry services from Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, has a backlog due to challenges with its machinery.
In the meantime, Dunswart Laundries is assisting with the existing backlog to ensure that patient care is not compromised.
ALSO READ: Gauteng Health adjusts tariffs for patients
In response to these pressing concerns, the GDoH has been allocated R100 million by the National Department of Health for the 2025/26 financial year to support its recapitalisation programme, which aims to refurbish and replace outdated critical equipment and machinery in hospitals.
Out of this amount, R50m is specifically set aside to address laundry machinery challenges across hospitals in the province.
'As part of this initiative, an assessment of the current equipment and machinery has been conducted to determine which machines require refurbishing and which ones need to be replaced.
'This evaluation will enable us to address the needs of facilities more effectively. To date, work has already commenced with the refurbishment of theatres at Carletonville and Bheki Mlangeni hospitals.
'This will be extended to all facilities in need,' explains Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko.
ALSO READ: Gauteng Health aims to oust ghost employees
'Due to the frequent breakdown of laundry machinery, the operational inefficiency in some hospitals is negatively affected, despite efforts to maintain and repair the machines.
Already, the laundromat has processed laundry badges from Bheki Mlangeni Hospital, and some are queued to be processed overnight. Additionally, the hospital management is exploring options to outsource laundry services to address this issue further temporarily.'
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
7 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
WC Finance MEC hopes additional funds to education, health will help plug gaps
CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Finance MEC Deidre Baartman says she hopes the additional funds allocated to provinces for education and health will help plug the gaps at both departments. During his budget speech two weeks ago, Finance Minister Enoch Gondongwana announced additional funds for provinces to retain teachers, healthcare professionals and hire new staff. Earlier this year, more than 2,400 teaching posts were cut in the Western Cape because of a budget shortfall of R3.8 billion. Baartman re-tabled the Western Cape's 2025/26 budget on Tuesday, following the withdrawal of the national budget in March. She said education and health would receive R100 billion each from the province's R269 billion budget over the next three years. "It should be noted that Minister Godongwana announced additional funding for education and health in provinces. This funding will flow to provinces later in the year and does not form part of this budget. Once received, we will allocate the funding to the respective departments accordingly."
Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
WC Finance MEC says education and health are budget priorities over next 3 years
CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Finance MEC Deidre Baartman said most of the province's budget would be spent on education and health over the next three years. On Tuesday, Baartman retabled the province's spending plans for the next three financial years, following the withdrawal of the national budget in March. The MEC said the province would spend R215.8 billion on the social services sector over the next three years. This includes R101 billion for education, R100 billion for health, and just over R6 billion for housing.
The Citizen
15 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘I could die before surgery': Cancer patient lost in Gauteng hospitals backlog
Over 34 000 patients are waiting to undergo surgery in various Gauteng public hospitals. A man from Gauteng, who is suffering from skin cancer and living in pain, has been told he may have to wait up to eight months for surgery at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. But he doesn't have eight months. He could be dead before then. There are probably many more like him who are low down on the waiting list for surgery at Gauteng's government hospitals and who may die before they are admitted to theatre. Thousands trapped in growing surgical backlog There are more than 34 000 patients waiting, said Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a written reply to questions by the DA's shadow health MEC Jack Bloom in the Gauteng Legislature. The man has developed a lump on his cheek, making it difficult for him to eat and speak. Early this year, he was diagnosed with skin cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma which has the potential to spread all over the body if left untreated. He is one of the 3 315 patients who has been on the surgery waiting list at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Patient faces starvation and suffocation risk 'The cancer has begun to spread to other body parts causing considerable pain and swelling,' said the patient in a statement. He was scheduled to have a feeding tube and stent inserted yesterday, but the appointment has been moved again to the following week. 'The hospital cannot perform the primary procedure due to a backlog of patients. The growth must be removed, along with reconstructive surgery on my jawline,' said the patient. 'We were told I might have to wait for another six to eight months.' Hospital resources stretched beyond limits Cancer Alliance director Salomé Meyer said the man was turned away from hospital yesterday morning. She said the patient requires a feeding tube and a stent to allow him to breathe and to eat. ALSO READ: Health minister defends nearly R10 million legal spend on NHI court battles 'If that is not emergency surgery then what is? He was told to come back next week as the surgeon is now attending another hospital. 'The hospital has only one operating theatre and one intensive care unit. Patients with trauma from car accidents or gunshot wounds take precedence. 'We are now actively seeking to raise funds to facilitate the removal of the growth before it spreads further and completely blocks his airways.' Meyer said the man first required emergency surgery but his surgery was cancelled. 'If he does not get this surgery as soon as possible, he will starve to death and possibly suffocate,' she said. Budget shortfalls and misused funds deepen crisis Meyer said in 2023-24, a portion of the R784 million that was made available for backlogs was also to be allocated to surgery, but 'we did not get any feedback from the department of health. What we know is that they did not use R250 million of the ringfenced cancer money and now are spending the remaining money on the cancer backlog for radiation,' she said. 'So where is the money for surgical backlogs? The problem is all of the affected hospitals have had staff cuts.' Meyer said it would not be surprising cancer patients were the majority requiring surgery as many of them can 'wait' as their operations are not regarded as emergency or life-saving. She added the budget cuts were affecting all the hospitals. 'Gauteng is particularly affected because of the backlogs. We need to realise that health in SA is in the emergency room – and we do not have blood, or even staff to attend to this crisis,' she said. Patients could wait years Nkomo-Ralehoko said the largest waiting list is 6 764 patients at the Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria, followed by the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto (6 232), Dr George Mukhari Hospital in GaRankuwa (5 354), and 3315 patients at the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. ALSO READ: Gauteng hospital security bill soars to R2.54bn amid patient care crisis Bloom said: 'Furthermore, figures are only given for 17 out of 37 hospitals in Gauteng. 'Waiting times differ for certain types of surgery; for instance, it is only one to two months for a cataract removal at Leratong Hospital, but two years at the Mamelodi and Yusuf Dadoo hospitals. 'While patients at Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville wait five years for hip surgery. They will only wait three to six months at Dr George Mukhari Hospital.' He added: 'The MEC blames the long waiting times on the high turnover of patients to Gauteng and the burden of trauma that takes preference over elective cases. She also admits that load shedding and water shortages lead to cancellations and postponements of surgeries. 'In May last year, the MEC claimed that the surgical waiting lists had been reduced from 38 000 to 24 000, so this progress has been reversed. I estimate the real waiting list for all 37 hospitals is probably about 40 000 as the budget cuts and staffing shortages have worsened the situation.' Bloom said while surgical blitzes can temporarily bring the number down, the DA is pushing for effective use of the R66 billion budget to permanently reduce the waiting lists. Health department denies backlog as crisis escalates Gauteng department of health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba conceded there were 34 528 patients recorded on surgical waiting lists at public hospitals in the province, but denied there is a backlog. 'The waiting lists includes patients across key specialties such as cataract, general surgery, paediatrics and others. However, it is important to differentiate between surgical backlogs and waiting lists. 'The waiting list is a dynamic figure as it fluctuates as and when new patients are registered on the waiting list and when surgeries are performed – it is therefore a moving target.' ALSO READ: Mother accuses Mpumalanga hospital of sabotage in medical negligence case Other hospitals with long waiting lists
