The DA calls for urgent intervention from Health MEC, Sasekani Manzini, after our investigation into Lydenburg Hospital revealed the chronic shortage of cleaning staff which has made it difficult to keep the hospital hygienic.
Images of stale food, mixed with filthy dishes in buckets left unattended, were sent to the DA by parents and guardians who were very aggrieved by the state of cleanliness in the hospital’s children’s ward.
Staff members who wished to remain anonymous complained about the hospital walls, windows and curtains that have not been washed or cleaned for months now. These are unacceptable, highly dangerous and pose deadly conditions for patients, visitors and hospital staff.
We found that a single staff member is responsible for cleaning the children’s ward, working from Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 16:00, and leaves no one else to do the cleaning on weekends.
As a result of the lack of cleaning staff, patients and visitors have resorted to taking matters into their own hands and doing their own dishes and mopping floors. This is how the stale food as well as dirty dishes, which seemed to be there for quite a long time, was discovered.
Moreover, other wards like the casualty ward, medical ward, and maternity ward also have a single cleaner responsible for as much as 44 patients in a single department within the ward. This is whilst they still have to tend to other departments.
Posts for cleaners were advertised by the hospital and interviews were held in December 2020. However, no appointments have been made to fill the vacant positions due to alleged budgetary constraints.
Patients have also complained and reported the shortage of food and other essential supplies at the hospital.
The deteriorating standards of service at Lydenburg Hospital has caused a lot of frustration within the community and its staff members.
Through our internal intergovernmental channels, the DA will call on MEC Manzini to visit Lydenburg Hospital and see for herself the filthy state it is in. Manzini should also state when the department will hire additional staff at that Hospital.
The DA will leave no stone unturned in fighting for the right for residents to access decent and dignified health care services as it is enshrined in Section 27 of our Constitution.