Tembisa Hospital didn't purchase armchairs but rather adjustable chairs that certainly can't cost R5,000 each, says Jack Bloom.
JOHANNESBURG - Tembisa Hospital management said typing errors were behind an alleged buying spree of overpriced equipment.The Democratic Alliance’s shadow Health MEC Jack Bloom on Wednesday met with the hospital’s acting CEO Mohlamme Mathabathe to find out whether the goods were indeed delivered to the hospital.Last year, ahead of the third COVID-19 wave in June, the hospital reportedly spent R500,000 on skinny jeans.
The hospital said the skinny jeans were a typing error and what they ordered was surgical sutures used to stitch the wounded.Bloom was not convinced and questioned the hospital's mistakes. “They have given us an explanation, coding error, which I think is very weak because how many other quote 'coding errors' were made. I think the problem is if they can't get the coding right what else are they not getting right?”It added standard office chairs - used by nurses in ICU - and paper cloths were delivered to the hospital instead.
“I have just visited the ICU and they are not armchairs at all. They are actually sort of adjustable chairs and certainly shouldn't have cost as much as R5,000 each.”