South Africa's Largest Hospital Faces Crisis Due to Pay Disputes

Doctors are bringing lunch for patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg, as a failure to pay food suppliers and waste disposal contractors brought the huge hospital to "crisis point", writes Masego Mafata for GroundUp.

Professor Martin Smith, clinical head of surgery at Chris Hani Baragwanath, said because of the failure to pay contractors, biological waste at the hospital was not being disposed of properly.

He said "patients' tissues, septic dressing and used needles and syringes" were currently stored in containers in a storeroom at the hospital because waste management contractors had withdrawn their services. Smith said by next week, the hospital will run out of space to store the biological waste.