Health Dept to procure thousands of beds, bassinets for healthcare facilities across SA - Motsoaledi

JOHANNESBURG - The national Health Department is set to procure R1.4 billion for urgent medical items, including beds, mattresses and linen at public healthcare facilities countrywide.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi made the announcement during a briefing in Centurion on Thursday, outlining how some of the department’s budget would be spent.

"Twenty-five thousand beds, which are ICU beds, general ward beds, three section electric beds, four section electric beds, multifunction electric beds, etcetera will cost R725 million."

He said that millions would also be spent on bassinets for newborn babies following the embarrassment in 2023 when a social media post went viral showing newborns being placed in cardboard boxes at Mafikeng Provincial Hospital in the North West.

"We will also buy bassinets, which are beds for newborns, which are not necessarily cots. We will buy 76,525 to the tune of R309.5 million."