Hospital staff complain about laundry soap

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Wednesday June 30, 2010 00:00

 

Undercover, Mmegi recently found stacks of condemned linen at the Marina laundry. Several workers complained that the super excel soap fails to remove the stains and dismissed it as too weak to wash clothes. 'It is just corrosive like an acid'. We have never thrown away piles of condemned linen like we are doing since we started using this soap', said a concerned staffer in confidence.

He says time and again the machine operator calls for more and more powdered soap saying the soap is too light.

The soap was supplied to government hospitals after manufacturer Chemdol Pty Ltd won an P11 million tender to supply the government with cleaning materials, one of which is the controversial soap. Workers at the Marina laundry told Mmegi they have now resorted to using a special stain removing liquid alongside the super excel soap.

' We had to buy this stain remover to supplement the soap. With the stain remover things are better but it is an extra cost to the government', said the laundry worker who told Mmegi he prefers South African detergents.Meanwhile the hospital's public relations unit says the high rate of condemnation of linen is mainly because the hospital, being the biggest in the country, has over 500 beds and a 125 percent occupancy rate.

Marina Hospital public relations officer, Kagiso Motsumi admitted they are experiencing problems of linen tear and wear but told Mmegi that many factors influence the removal of linen from circulation.

These may include normal wear and tear, frequency of use, and condemnation because of stains that cannot be removed, to name a few.  'We cannot therefore attribute shortage or condemnation of linen solely to the laundry detergents the hospital uses'.

The hospital also admitted they are ordering more blankets to enhance what they have, but attributed the new orders to cold winter months adding that, 'some orders of the blankets have been delivered to the hospital and more will be delivered in due course'.

However the public relations unit would not state the value of linen that had to be replaced due to wear and tear. The public relations unit refused to entertain further follow up questions saying their earlier answers were enough.

Efforts to talk to the hospital manager proved futile as he was said to be on leave, but his secretary promised that the hospital manager, Mr Ovuya would get in touch with Mmegi.

He did not. The secretary later told Mmegi that Ovuya was not willing to talk to the media, and instead referred Mmegi to the PRO. Mmegi however contacted the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning this week but they said there were no quality standards required for the tender of the laundry soap contrary to the hullabaloo.