SILOAM - Patients who had been admitted to the Siloam Hospital in the past two weeks were told to bring along their own blankets, linen and clothes as the washing machine was out of order.

Khumbudzo Rasivhetshela (17) of Ha-Mamuhohi, Madzhatsha in Nzhelele Venda was one of those unfortunate patients when he was admitted to Siloam Hospital on January 11.

Khumbudzo, who was suffering from malaria, said the nurses told him when he was admitted, that he must provide his own blankets and clothes, because the old washing machine was broken.

He said he was also told that he can provide his own meal, if he is not happy with the one provided by the hospital. Khumbudzo used his own blankets and clothes in the five days he spent at the hospital. However, he said the hospital provided him with meals, which he was happy with.

His father, Jutas Rasivhetshele said he was concerned that he paid R85 for the five days his son spent in hospital, while he was not given quality service. He claims the service provided by the hospital is becoming poorer every day.

Some of the nurses who spoke to Mirror on condition of anonymity blamed the department for not providing them with resources. They claimed the department always complained of budget constrains whenever they make requisition for resources.

The provincial spokesperson for the department, Mr Aluwani Netsianda confirmed that patients were advised to bring their own blankets and clothes. Netsianda said it was true that the washing machine was broken at Siloam.

"As a result, the washing is done at Tshilidzini Hospital. Because at Tshilidzini they also have a load of clothes and linen to wash, the laundry from Siloam could take long to be washed. Then the hospital management agreed to advice patients to bring their own blankets and clothes so that they can change regularly. Some of the people who came to see their patients might be disturbed by dirty linen and clothes as they might feel that their patients deserve better care," said Netsianda.

Netsianda also said the machine broke because it is old. He said they would buy new ones as soon as the right procedures have been followed. He is not sure about the price of the new machine and date of purchase.

Netsianda also added that they regret any inconvenience that might be caused by the situation. "Anyway, it should be noted that there is no crisis here. The machine has been breaking down in the past two weeks. But we have no food crisis. We provide standard food. Patients are advised to provide their own meals if they can afford better meals than what we have. People might prefer particular meals that what we have," said Netsianda.

"The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo is aware of the trying situations that currently obtains at various hospitals. In an effort to address the situation, the DA leader, Mr Michael Holfort wrote to the MEC for Health, providing him with information of what was found at the four hospitals he visited, reads a statement supplied by the DA last week.