Johannesburg – The laundry problems affecting hospitals in Gauteng have finally gained attention with the National Department of Health allocating R100 million to the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH).
The GDoH said it welcomes the injection of much-needed financial resources to help it tackle the ongoing challenges posed by aging machinery and critical equipment across hospitals, particularly in laundry services, which require an overhaul.
In response to these pressing concerns, the GDoH said it has been allocated R100 million by the National Department of Health for the 2025/26 financial year to support its recapitalisation programme, which aims to refurbish and replace outdated critical equipment and machinery in hospitals.
The GDoH said that out of this amount, R50 million was specifically set aside to address laundry machinery challenges across hospitals in the province.
“As part of this initiative, an assessment of the current equipment and machinery has been conducted to determine which machines require refurbishing and which ones need to be replaced,” said Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko on Wednesday, (21 May 2025).
“This evaluation will ensure that we address the needs of facilities more effectively.
“To date, work has already commenced with the refurbishment of theatres at Carletonville and Bheki Mlangeni hospitals. This will be extended to all facilities in need.”
The GDoH said that due to the frequent breakdown of laundry machinery, the operational efficiency in some hospitals is negatively affected, despite efforts to maintain and repair the machines.
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“Currently, Bheki Mlangeni Hospital, which relies on laundry services from Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, has a backlog due to machinery breakdown challenges,” the GDoH said.
“In the interim, Dunswart Laundries is assisting with the existing backlog in an effort to ensure that patient care is not compromised.
“Already, the laundromat has processed laundry badges from Bheki Mlangeni Hospital, and some are queued to be processed overnight.”
Additionally, GDoH said the hospital management is exploring options to temporarily outsource laundry services to further address this issue.
