Madigele admits to uniform challenges in hospitals

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Monday August 10, 2015 15:24

The Assistant Minister of Health, Alfred Madigele made this admission in Parliament last week.

“I am, however, aware that some facilities ran out of stock of protective clothing such as gowns, cloaks, boots and aprons.  My ministry is facing challenges of procuring uniforms and other protective clothing of standard quality and amount, to meet the needs of our nurses,” Madigele said.

Madigele was responding to a question asked by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ramotswa, Samuel Rantuana who wanted to know if the Health Minister was aware that most nurses perform their duties without uniform or protective clothing.

Madigele, however, said he was not aware that most nurses working in their health facilities perform their daily duties without uniform.

“To address this, funds have been allocated to the District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) at the beginning of this financial year to procure uniforms and protective clothing for our nurses,” he said.

He said his ministry was working on a framework contract that would facilitate prompt procurement of uniform and protective clothing by reducing the long tender processing periods.

The minister further said he could not state a specific timeframe as to when the issue of protective  clothing would be completely addressed. In addition, Rantuana said the MoH should ensure that the matter is addressed urgently since the lives of nurses could be in danger.“How are nurses going to help patients if they do not have protective clothing like gowns and aprons. This issue should be looked into,” said Rantuana.