Public hospitals in Mthatha are fed up with the ineffective and inadequate laundry facilities at their institutions, with staff from the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital (NMAH) take a six-hour, 500km roundtrip, every day to have their laundry done at Cecilia Makiwane Hospital (CMH) in to Mdantsane, because of faulty machines at their own hospital.
According to the Daily Dispatch, just one washing machine and one dryer are working at their hospital, but not at full capacity. One source, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of victimisation, said they took turns to travel to CMH, where they did the laundry overnight.
“It is not just the NMAH linen that we wash, but Bedford and Mthatha General Hospital laundry as well. Theatre laundry is done at a laundromat in Mthatha,” the source said.
Health spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said the management at NMAH was very grateful to the drivers who were supporting them “during these challenging times”, and confirmed the laundry was not “functioning at its full capacity due to unforeseen breakdowns in machinery”. She attributed the delays in receiving spare parts from abroad to COVID-19 restrictions.
“The district hospitals’ laundries do not have the capacity to do the washing for a central and a regional hospital. Their machines are too small,” she added. “The capacity of machines procured for a hospital is determined by the clinical services that require laundry services in that facility.”
She said clinical service factors influencing the type of machine ordered for a hospital included the number of beds, outpatient departments, theatres and clinical support services.
“A tender to procure the machines was advertised and closed on 30 June 2021. No responsive bids were received and that process had to be cancelled. A second bid was then readvertised and will close on 4 November.
“The Eastern Cape Health Department has budgeted for the total refurbishment of the laundry, among other needs at NMAH. The Public Works & Infrastructure department, as the implementing agent, has awarded a three-year contract for the refurbishment and the contractor is preparing for the site establishment and is expected to start soon.”
Another source who works at the laundry said: “There are piles of dirty linen packed on those trucks every day. The management seems to be blind to the pain we are suffering. They come to the laundry, take notes and leave and nothing is done about this. We earn R3,500 a month, with no benefits. It’s just that we need jobs, but working like this is not good.”
Dekeda said the plan was to appoint laundry workers on contract while awaiting the formal approval of the revised organogram for the institution. “Approval has been granted to contract these workers up to the end of March 2022. When a revised organogram is approved, the recruitment processes will take place.”
Daily Dispatch article – Laundry nightmare for hospital workers (Restricted access)
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