Food crisis at Bara Hospital

10 March 2022

Food is running out at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital because of contract mismanagement and non-payment of suppliers.

There has been no bread for the past two weeks and some doctors and nurses have taken in food to feed starving patients.

Donors have also been asked to provide food for the hospital.

A number of food contracts have expired so Requests for Quotations are used to fill the gap in a haphazard way that has lead to shortages of meat, chicken and fish despite paying higher prices.

Another crisis is the build-up of medical waste at the hospital as Buhle Waste has suspended services because they have not been paid.

It appears that the Gauteng Health Department has run out of money towards the end of its financial year on 31 March.

Meanwhile, staff and patients at Gauteng’s public hospitals are suffering because of the non-payment of various suppliers.

More misery is on the horizon because the 2022/23 Gauteng Health Budget announced this week received zero increase from the previous year.

It is high time that competent and honest people are appointed to run Gauteng’s health services to ensure decent services without wastage and corruption.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 10 March 2022