22-05-2025
Hospital laundry backlog: Interim and long-term fixes being implemented, department says
The Gauteng health department says it is assessing its laundry equipment, to determine which machines need to be replaced and repaired, to ensure the supply of clean linen at hospitals.
This as it acknowledged a 'frequent breakdown of laundry machinery'.
This week, patients were given plastic sheeting to lie on and have had to bring their own blankets to the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital in Soweto, according to provincial legislature member Jack Bloom. Six months ago, large piles of laundry were seen at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
On Wednesday, the department said there was 'a backlog due to machinery breakdown challenges' at the Bheki Mlangeni hospital, which relies on laundry services from Bara.
The provincial Dunswart Laundries in Boksburg was roped in to deal with the backlog.
'Additionally, the hospital management is exploring options to temporarily outsource laundry services to further address this issue,' the department said.
MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said the province has received R100m from the national department for the 2025/26 financial year to support its recapitalisation programme which aims to refurbish and replace outdated critical equipment and machinery in hospitals.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 equipment and machinery has been conducted to determine which machines require refurbishing and which ones need to be replaced. This evaluation will ensure that we address the needs of facilities more effectively.'
