Helen Joseph Hospital attack highlights need for new security tenders

28 February 2023

The appalling attack this past weekend on a nurse at the Helen Joseph Hospital highlights the need for new security contracts at Gauteng public hospitals.

Hospital security contracts were last awarded in 2014 for a two-year period that expired in November 2016.

Although an investigation found irregularities in the award of these contracts they have been rolled over on a month-by-month basis for more than six years.

The Auditor-General has condemned this as irregular expenditure every year since, but the Gauteng Health Department has been slow to re-advertise the contracts.

I suspect corruption as many of the contracts are exorbitant and the security companies have failed to prevent theft and violence at hospitals.

New security contracts should be advertised and awarded as soon as possible to ensure cost-effective security that stops the thefts and protects staff and patients.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 28 February 2023