Tembisa Hospital: from most dangerous to most improved

FROM being rated Gauteng’s most dangerous hospital in 2014, Tembisa Hospital’s status has moved to that of most improved hospital in the province.

These statistics are based on the number of serious adverse events (SAEs) affecting patients.

According to Jack Bloom, MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital had the highest number of SAEs affecting patients in Gauteng, with 62 SAEs reported in 2015.

This is according to information he obtained from the Gauteng Health Department after submitting a request using the Promotion of Access to Information Act.

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An SAE is defined as an event that results in unintended harm to the patient by an act of commission or omission rather than by the underlying disease or condition of the patient.

This can involve negligence, staff incompetence and system failure.

Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital compares poorly with the other academic hospitals, which had the following, much lower, SAEs in 2015:

Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital 10

George Mukhari Hospital 9

Steve Biko Hospital 3

Jubilee Hospital is the most dangerous hospital in Gauteng, recording 51 SAEs, despite being much smaller than Baragwanath Hospital.

Other dangerous hospitals include: Pholosong 46, Leratong 30, Kopanong and Odi 28, Pretoria West 23, Sebokeng 22 and Far East Rand 21.

The safest hospitals with the lowest SAEs are: Heidelberg 1, Edenvale 2, Tambo Memorial 3 and Rahima Moosa 4.

“The most improved hospital is Tembisa, which had 17 SAEs in 2015, down from 71 recorded from January 2012 to September 2013,” Bloom said.

There were 503 SAEs in Gauteng state hospitals in 2015.

“More steps are needed to cut down medical mistakes and ensure that patients are healed rather than injured in our state hospitals,” he added.