An alarm was raised within the Muslim community after a circular made rounds saying that Helen Joseph Hospital would discontinue Halaal food. However, on Wednesday, the Gauteng Department of Health reassured Muslim patients that Halaal food would still be available.
The department said the move had initially been made as a result of poor planning from the side of the facility. Spokesperson Kwera Kenana gave a statement saying the head of department had given an order retracting the initially issued memo.
“We can assure the Muslim community that the acting head of department earlier on today (16th December) instructed Helen Joseph Hospital to immediately and unreservedly withdraw the said memo. The move to stop providing Halaal food services was as a result of poor planning on the side of the facility and simply unacceptable,” she explained.
Kwera gave an apology on the hospital’s behalf for any inconvenience caused.
“The Gauteng Department of Health extends a heartfelt apology for the inconvenience caused as a result of the poor management of the issue by the hospital,” she said.
“The matter has since been resolved, and we wish to allay the fears of Muslim patients and their loved ones that the service will not be interrupted,” Kekana said.
