MEDICAL WASTE CRISIS HITS MAJOR GAUTENG HOSPITALS
Major Gauteng Hospitals are being hit by the refusal of Phambili Wasteman to collect medical waste because they are owed R6 million by the Gauteng Health Department.
Temporary contractors have been brought in to remove waste at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic and the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospitals, but the problem is becoming acute at the Pretoria Hospitals.
The situation at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital was described to me as a "crisis", with hundreds of boxes being stored in passages and an "unbearable" smell. They were told last week that the army would be called in to remove the waste, but it is still building up at the hospital.
At Dr George Mukhari Hospital I have got complaints that three weeks of waste in plastic bags is piling up to the roof, attracting hordes of flies to the storage area which is nearby the kitchen.
Pretoria West, Kalafong and Mamelodi hospitals are all desperate to have their waste collected, and so is the Helen Joseph Hospital in west Johannesburg.
Pikitup Johannesburg is removing the waste at Charlotte Maxeke, but they are not registered for medical waste and are not suitable for this specialized service.
Buhle Waste picked up the waste at Chris Hani Baragwanath this weekend and will help out until the situation with Phambili Wasteman is resolved.
It all stinks to high heaven. Placentas, bloodied bandages, swabs and used needles need to be properly disposed of, but this is not happening because of poor financial management.
Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane needs to step in to get an emergency loan to help the Gauteng Health Department pay its suppliers as soon as possible.
R1.75 BILLION GAUTENG HEALTH BUDGET OVERSPEND
I have it on good authority that the Gauteng Health and Social Development Department will overspend by R1.75 billion in the financial year that ends on 31 March.
This is in addition to R700 million debt carried over from the previous financial year, and about R1 billion owed to hospital suppliers that will only be paid in the new financial year in April.
The delay in payments to suppliers is robbing the future budget to meet liabilities in the present budget.
This is completely unsustainable. Service delivery will suffer when hospitals are given budgets less than what they spent the previous year.
Suppliers are now cutting off services to hospitals because of non-payment, which is of great concern. Phambili Wasteman, for instance, is owed R6 million and has now stopped collecting medical waste from Gauteng hospitals where boxes of infectious and smelly waste are building up alarmingly.
I hope that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan provides extra for our struggling health services, as well as strict measures to eliminate waste and corruption so that every cent is spent properly.
Statements issued by Jack Bloom, MPL, Democratic Alliance Gauteng health spokesperson, February 15 2010
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