Charlotte Maxeke patients go hungry as meal supply collapses

Patients at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital have been left hungry after a sudden collapse in the hospital’s food supply with some receiving nothing more than a single slice of bread for lunch. The crisis emerged during a visit by DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC Dr Jack Bloom, who says he was “shocked” by the severely inadequate meals offered to people recovering from illness. The disruption stems from last week’s abrupt shutdown of the Masakhane Cook Freeze Factory the central kitchen supplying plated meals to six hospitals and 17 community health centres after city inspectors reportedly detected E. coli contamination. With the facility producing 8,000 meals a day, its closure has left hospitals scrambling. Nurses say families have been forced to bring food from home to keep patients nourished. Phemelo speaks to Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko and DA Shadow MEC Jack Bloom for more on how the province plans to restore proper meals.