Food supply problems at other Gauteng hospitals

14 March 2022

Food supply problems at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital have been highlighted, but other Gauteng state hospitals also suffer from inadequate food arrangements due to expired contracts and poor financial management.

The situation at Heidelberg Hospital is so bad that they have taken food from other hospitals. They have not been able to get dairy products, meat, fruits and vegetables, but are able to get bread.

I have established that the following hospitals have also had bread supply problems:

Far East Rand Hospital
Bertha Gxowa Hospital
Odi Hospital
Pretoria West Hospital
Helen Joseph Hospital

Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging cannot get fresh milk, so they are using powdered milk instead.

Meanwhile, meals for patients at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital (CMJH) have deteriorated. This is what patients had this weekend:

Saturday lunch - a roll with a margarine tub but no plastic knife to apply it, and a packet of soup with no hot water.

Saturday supper - a roll with a hard-boiled egg.

Sunday breakfast - porridge with a roll, but no water.

Sunday lunch - a tub with dry mixed vegetables, cauliflower and dry cooked mielies.

Sunday supper - an apple and a roll with a margarine tub.

Photos of the meals are available here here here and here

It is not clear why the CMJH meals are so poor, without any meat, chicken or fish.

Patients need nutritionally balanced meals, instead of random food scrounged together by an uncaring and incompetent management.

It’s a terrible way to mistreat sick people.

I will be asking probing questions why this food disaster is allowed to continue.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 14 March 2022