ACORNHOEK – A repulsive stench, garbage all over the place and dirty linen are the first things one notices when walking into most of the wards at Tintswalo Hospital.

Last week a patient complained about having had to wait the whole day in the paediatric ward to see a doctor while sitting next to a rubbish bin full of dirt and on a dirty floor that no one cared to clean.

Mpumalanga News investigated the state of the facility.

Cleanliness seemed to be the last priority at the hospital with dirty floors and linen that looked like it hadn’t been changed for a long time.

“This is what we are faced with at this hospital and we cannot complain since the service is free.

As long as we get medical help and go home, we don’t really have a say,” said a discouraged patient.

Another one at the maternity ward said she was worried about picking up infections because the place was too dirty and sometimes a whole day would go by without anyone mopping the floors.

“The situation is bad but our people are also to blame. The problem is that this is a public facility and many people come here for services every day.

They litter here and complain when the place is not cleaned. Why make a mess when you see that the bin is full? That dirt is bound to end up on the floor,” said a patient, Ms Thelma Mashego.

Several health workers also raised concerns about having to work in a dirty environment.

“Patients think it’s us who are responsible of keeping the place clean hence they paint us as negligent people when it’s actually the general workers’ duty.”

The public needed to be responsible in helping to keep the facility clean, however, it seemed as if the health department needed to pull up its socks and address the issue of cleanliness at public hospitals.

This concern was also raised by the chairperson of the health portfolio committee, Ms Patricia Ngobeni, when she conducted oversight visits at various public hospitals earlier this year.

“We have noted that hospitals like Mapulaneng, Themba and Tintswalo have a long way to go when it comes to cleanliness.”

She attributed the problem to a shortage of general workers with many having retired.”

“The department needs to advertise posts and hire enough people who will ensure that these facilities are kept as clean as it is a prerequisite to prevent infections,” said Ngobeni.