Contractor to repair laundry equipment at Bara
The Gauteng Health Department has appointed a service provider to repair the laundry equipment at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.
This comes after workers raised the alarm over poor hygiene conditions due to linen shortage caused by malfunctioning laundry equipment.
Photos of pile-up dirty linen have since gone viral on social media, sparking outrage.
Currently three tunnel washers are out of service, with only five driers operational in tunnel washer number two.
The department's spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba, has blamed ageing infrastructure.
"The facility’s laundry has ageing infrastructure that requires an overhaul. A service provider has been appointed to carry out repairs on the laundry equipment to restore full functionality as quickly as possible.
"Already one out of four ironers has been successfully repaired. The original equipment manufacturer is on-site to repair two other ironers.
"In the interim, hospital linens are being laundered at Dunswart provincial laundry on a daily basis to ensure a consistent supply of clean linen to patients.”
Motalatale says 106 staff members have been dispatched to the laundry to boost the operation during the day and night shifts.
"Additionally, two external laundry service providers have been appointed to support these efforts further. Already two 5-ton trucks have delivered clean linen over the weekend,"
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