Steps taken to address the linen shortage at Baragwanath Hospital

The Gauteng Department of Health has taken the necessary steps to mitigate the temporary shortage of linen at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) due to the breakdown of the in-house laundry machines. 

A team of infrastructure technicians are working with the appointed contractor to restore the laundry service to its full capacity as speedily as possible. The breakdown of the machines has temporarily affected the normal running of the laundry services. In the interim, CHBAH linens are being laundered at Dunswart Laundries, where two teams of workers have been arranged to work both day 
and night shifts to ensure continuous supply of clean linen for patients.

It is important to note that the laundry machines at CHBAH are aging and have reached the end of their operational lifespan. Despite multiple repairs, the machines continue to fail, necessitating their complete replacement. In response to this, the department has already submitted a Business Case to the Gauteng Provincial Treasury (GPT) and the National Department of Health (NDoH) to acquire funding for the procurement of new laundry equipment.

The provision of clean linen to patients remains a key priority and when mechanical issues arise in our system, alternative measures are implemented to sustain the service. To date, the NDoH has approved the request by GDoH and the installation of new machines will commence as soon as funding is granted. 

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. 

Motalatale Modiba, Head of Communication: 064 803 0808 or healthmediaenquiries@gauteng.gov.za

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