The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has welcomed 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 requires an overhaul.

In response to these pressing concerns, the GDoH 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of Health for the 2025/26 financial year to support its recapitalisation programme which aims to refurbish and replace outdated critical equipment and machinery in hospitals. Out of this amount, R50 million is 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. 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,” explains Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko.

Due to the frequent breakdown of laundry machinery, the operational inefficiency in some hospitals is negatively affected, despite efforts to maintain and repair the machines. Currently, Bheki Mlangeni Hospital, which relies on laundry services from Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital has a backlog due to machinery breakdown challenges.

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, the hospital management is exploring options to temporarily outsource laundry services to further address this issue.

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Issued by the Gauteng Department of Health