Elderly woman stranded as hospital theatres are closed
A resident is worried that she might go blind because she has been waiting eight months to have surgery at Leratong Hospital.
Leratong Hospital’s theatres have been closed for months due to repairs leaving many patients who need to go for life-saving surgeries in distress.
Magda Erasmus is an elderly woman from Krugersdorp who needs to undergo urgent cataract surgery.
According to Erasmus, the surgery was to be done in August 2023 but the hospital kept sending her back home saying that their theatres were out of order.
“I am worried for my life because I have done surgery on one eye before but now I can’t do the other one because the hospital staff keeps telling me that their theatres are not ready,” she said.
Erasmus fears she might go blind because she has been waiting eight months for the surgery.
“I have been going to the hospital on the dates they provided but once I am there, they give me a new date,” she elaborated.
She added that she went to the hospital earlier this year, and spent the night only to be sent back home with a new date for July. Her other eye is starting to give her problems and she cannot afford private healthcare as she receives a state pension.
The hospital’s communications officer Matlhatsi Dibakwane responded to Erasmus’ claims and their statement stipulated that the theatres were not in use due to ongoing repairs and that theatre patients are being transferred to Dr Yusuf Dadoo Hospital, Carletonville Hospital, and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.
The media statement said the hospital’s theatre challenges will be resolved by the end of April. The Krugersdorp News will follow up on this and provide feedback accordingly.
If you have also been affected by this in any way, the News would like to hear from you. Send an email to neliswa@caxton.co.za or contact 011 955 1130.
