Staff Writer ​
Provision of services at a healthcare facility is depended on multiple teams whose collective goal is to improve patients experience of care. One such team member is Masindi Xaba, the Laundry Services Supervisor at Steve Biko Academic Hospital (SBAH).
Ncaba is one of the women who have seen the value of undergoing skills development training as this has led to her moving from being an ordinary worker at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital to being a supervisor at SBAH's laundry, something she attributes to her determination, hard work and commitment.
"Traditionally supervisors and managers in our laundry were men. However, after the Department empowered me with managerial skills and the technical skills on how to operate the laundry machines, I am now a supervisor," said Xaba. 
The 50-year-old from Soshanguve in Tshwane started her career as a volunteer in 2002 at the Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital's Laundry section. In 2004, she was hired on a permanent contract. After spending 10 years at Weskoppies and gaining all the skills needed, she then assumed her current position at SBAH in 2015. 
As the country marks three decades of democracy and Women's Month under the theme "Celebrating 30 Years of Democracy Towards Women's Development", Xaba is among the courageous women in health who continue to make strides in their respective field, ensuring the continuation on essential services.
Laundry services in hospitals play a critical role and is responsible for providing adequate, clean and constant supply of linen to ensure not only improved hygiene but the continued provision of healthcare services such as surgical procedures.
Xaba says that the provision of adequate clean linen at all the wards at Steve Biko Academic Hospital and ensuring that patients sleep on clean sheets and get to wear clean gowns is what makes her wake up in the morning and sleep peacefully at night. 
"I always make sure that the hospital has adequate linen to ensure that all services continue as normal. What if it was myself or my mother sleeping on that bed or due for the procedure and there is no clean linen?" asked Xaba, rhetorically emphasising the importance of putting patients first. 
The single mother of three young men added that her supervisory role goes beyond the laundry room. Similarly to how she plays both motherly and fatherly figure to her boys, she also plays a critical role in ensuring that the young people that report to her are levelheaded, sometimes referring them to the hospital's employee health and wellness when they need assistance with personal issues. 
Xaba encouraged women to always believe in themselves and make use of every opportunity they are given to advance themselves. She aims to one day open her own laundry service business to render services to hospitals and other companies.