Food runs out at hospital
Patients were never left without any food, says Health Department.
BADPLAAS – When reports emerged that the Embhuleni Hospital had run out of food last week, the provincial DA called for an immediate investigation into the matter.
The department of health, however, responded to media enquiries that certain items such as porridge and vegetables were out of stock last week, but no patient had been left without a meal or anything to eat at any time.
“Our records show that all patients received food but it did not have all the necessary ingredients,” said Mr Ronnie Masilela, departmental spokesman.
Masilela stated that the reports were true “to a lesser degree” because certain basic items were not available in the kitchen when MEC Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini paid a visit to the hospital on Thursday October 3. The department had been notified of the shortages the previous night.
Furthermore, during the MEC’s visit, a meeting with the hospital management and the service provider of essential food items was held and problems with the latter were pointed out. Paying R400 for a pocket of potatoes was unacceptable, said the DA’s
Mr James Masango regarding the matter. “This is a compelling reason for the department to centralise its procurement processes to hospitals to eliminate slow bungling and possible corruption.” He added that this was the second incident of this kind at a Mpumalanga hospital in recent months.
The department did not confirm payment of this amount for potatoes but Masilela said there was a problem with pricing in general. According to him, this was addressed during the meeting on Thursday. “Concerns about pricing will be addressed in a meeting to be held with our service providers soon,” he concluded.
