Claims of prolonged delays to critical elective surgeries at Tambo Memorial Hospital have sparked a political row after the DA accused the Gauteng Department of Health of leaving patients in pain while operating theatres undergo maintenance.

The department, however, says elective procedures are at times postponed to prioritise life-threatening emergency surgeries and has acknowledged that it is dealing with a province-wide surgical backlog.

The issue came into the spotlight during a media briefing outside the hospital on July 23, where DA Gauteng spokesperson for health, Madeleine Hicklin MPL, was joined by DA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, as well as a patient who approached the party for assistance after experiencing repeated surgery delays.

Concerns over prolonged surgery delays raised
According to Hicklin, patients were assured in March that maintenance work on the hospital’s theatre complex would delay elective surgeries by only two months.
She alleged that many patients continue to face repeated postponements despite those assurances.

“The Gauteng Department of Health gave assurances to patients on March 25 that the multi-phased renovation project to the theatre complex would be completed within two months and that people awaiting elective surgeries would be accommodated within that time. That is not the case. Patients have repeatedly been deferred,” said Hicklin.

She cited the case of a patient who has been waiting for a hip replacement since March and who, she claimed, has repeatedly been instructed to return the following month without receiving a surgery date.

‘Patients left waiting in pain’
Hicklin said the prolonged delays have left the patient unable to work properly, struggling with mobility and living with constant pain, arguing that the situation infringes on patients’ dignity and quality of life.

She alleged that the patient’s experience is not an isolated case and claimed there are hundreds of patients across Gauteng facing similar delays while awaiting elective procedures.

Calls for better referral pathways
The DA has criticised what it describes as the department’s failure to make greater use of referral pathways to transfer patients to other hospitals within the provincial network where surgeries could be performed sooner.

“My immediate need is decent referral pathways. If one hospital cannot perform the surgery because of maintenance, patients must be referred to another hospital. It is no longer a request; it is a demand,” said Hicklin.

She also questioned responses provided by the department to questions she submitted in the provincial legislature, arguing that they contradicted patients’ experiences.

In a written reply to the legislature, the department said the R6.34m project at Tambo Memorial Hospital is a planned maintenance programme involving the replacement of air handling units in the operating theatre complex.

The maintenance commenced at the beginning of May and is expected to be completed by end of October.

The department stated that no surgical procedures have been postponed because of the maintenance work, adding that theatre utilisation increased to 90% in May and that emergency surgeries have continued uninterrupted throughout the project.

Department says emergencies take priority, acknowledges backlog
Speaking to the Boksburg Advertiser, the department spokesperson Steve Mabona acknowledged that the province is experiencing a backlog of surgical cases but rejected claims that theatre maintenance has halted surgeries at Tambo Memorial Hospital.

“The elective surgeries will definitely be postponed or delayed in the event of emergency surgeries, as priority will always be given to emergency surgeries because we cannot risk lives,” said Mabona.

He explained that the maintenance programme is being carried out one operating theatre at a time to minimise disruptions while ensuring theatres meet the required safety standards.

Maintenance aimed at ensuring patient safety
“The air handling units regulate the temperature inside the theatre. If that system malfunctions, patients are at greater risk of developing infections.
“That is why the maintenance work must be done,” he said.

According to Mabona, maintenance on theatre one has been completed, theatre two became operational this week and work on theatre three is scheduled to begin soon before continuing through the remaining theatres.

Province working to reduce surgical backlog
While conceding that Gauteng’s public health system has a substantial surgical backlog, Mabona said waiting lists are not unique to Tambo Memorial Hospital.

“The last time I checked, we had more than 40 000 patients forming part of our surgical backlog. We have digitised our system and know exactly how many patients are waiting, how many have been treated and how many have been delayed because emergency surgeries had to take priority,” he said.

Mabona said clinicians across the province had also volunteered additional time during Mandela Month to help reduce the backlog, committing to perform 1300 additional surgeries over and above their normal workload.

Department defends referral system
He also defended the province’s referral system, saying Tambo Memorial Hospital forms part of an established cluster of hospitals and already refers patients where clinically appropriate.

“The referral system is there and it works very well,” he said.

While the DA maintains patients are being left to endure prolonged pain because of delayed elective surgeries and inadequate referrals, the department insists maintenance work is necessary to ensure patient safety and that surgical services continue despite the ongoing project as it works to reduce the province’s growing backlog.

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