DA outraged by abandoned beds at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital [video]

The DA has called for decisive action to be taken against the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto, after footage leaked on social media showing hundreds of beds stored outside.

As reported by SABC News, Jack Bloom, the party’s regional health spokesperson, was very critical of this level of wastage.

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital blasted for storing beds outside

Bloom noted that while these beds were eroding under the changing weather conditions, many other healthcare institutions in the province suffered from overcrowding issues due to shortages in beds.

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“I think that these beds could be used elsewhere. I know a lot of proper institutions that would like these beds and now we have a huge wide stock of useful beds lying outside the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital,” he said.

The hospital has failed to provide a reason for why hundreds of beds have been left out in the open. The provincial department of health could only state that the matter is being investigated.

Bed shortage chief reason for overcrowding in Gauteng hospital

The shortage of beds in public hospitals is one of the chief contributors to overcrowding.

According to Medical Brief, in October 2018, the national healthcare ministry had attributed the spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae — a common gut bacteria — to bed shortages in neonatal wards.

This issue, Bloom exclaimed, could easily be addressed if the government looked into these issues.

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In his tweet, where he shared images of the outdoor storage facility, he lambasted the ANC for not being able to fix health in Gauteng.

Hundreds of beds dumped in the open at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, what a waste! The ANC cannot be trusted to fix health in Gauteng. pic.twitter.com/CTHrTU2ND1

— Jack Bloom (@JackBloomDA) May 5, 2019

Watch: Soweto hospital stores beds outside

Another Twitter user, @judebax, uploaded a video showing the area where the beds have been kept.

Patients sleeping on the floor in hospital, but look what’s stacked up here. pic.twitter.com/UM8tdrGnwB

— JustJude (@judebax) May 5, 2019