Gauteng health spokesperson Steve Mabona maintains that there was only a July shortage, which has since been resolved.
Tambo Memorial Hospital, Johannesburg. Picture: Facebook
The Gauteng Department of Health last week rejected key claims about a stoma bag shortage at Tambo Memorial Hospital, denying that any private contractor was involved and disputing claims that a shortage occurred in 2023.
The department said on Friday, 14 August, that it had no record of patients being asked to buy their own supplies.
Responding to questions from The Citizen, it rebutted questions based on correspondence about stoma shortages at Tambo Memorial dating back to 2023.
This correspondence also included an account from a reliable source and a statement from the DA.
2023 stoma shortage disputed
Gauteng health spokesperson Steve Mabona maintained that the shortage was only in July and had been resolved.
Correspondence showed a nurse telling a source in May 2023 that there was “no stock of stoma bags at Tambo Memorial Hospital”.
The department said its records showed nothing of the sort. “Available hospital records do not confirm a disruption in the supply of stoma bags in 2023,” it said.
Mabona further defended that measures had since been implemented.
“The procurement delay experienced in July 2026 has been resolved, and measures have been implemented to strengthen stock monitoring and prevent a recurrence,” said Mabona.
No private contractor, department says
DA Gauteng health spokesperson Madeleine Hicklin had said a private supplier was engaged on 5 August 2026 to ration ten bags per patient through a liaison coordinator.
The department rejected this.
“The hospital has not contracted a private supplier to procure or distribute stoma bags. These products are procured by the hospital in line with applicable procurement processes,” Mabona said.
He described the 10-bag allocation as “a temporary measure to distribute available stock fairly while procurement processes were being finalised.”
Nurse’s role limited to support, department maintains
The source had said hospital staff played no role in stoma care.
“No Tambo hospital staff interact with stoma outpatients directly,” the source said, adding that “the stoma clinic is staffed, operated and managed by a private sector nurse who is seconded to Tambo by the principal stoma products supplier.”
However, Mabona disagreed, saying the department’s responsibility sat within its own structures.
“The procurement and distribution of stoma bags remain the responsibility of the hospital’s pharmacy manager and the operational manager of the outpatient department,” he said.
The spokesperson added that the nurse was “not responsible for procuring or allocating stoma bags”.
“The nurse referred to is affiliated with a private organisation and provides patients with health education and psychosocial support,” Mabona added.
No record of patients self-funding supplies
Hicklin’s statement said a patient had been “forced to purchase his own stoma bags due to inconsistent supply”.
The department said it had no knowledge of this.
“Tambo Memorial Hospital is not aware of patients being instructed to purchase stoma bags at their own expense,” it said.
The source gave a different account, saying, “I never purchased any stoma supplies; however, I did obtain some from a fellow resident some time ago,” who had since died.
Wider network says no current shortages
Asked about reports of similar problems at Tembisa and Sebokeng hospitals, the department said no current shortages had been reported there, and that facilities rely on “sister hospitals until the necessary deliveries are realised”.
This echoed a pattern at Tambo itself, where a nurse said in July 2026 she had been issuing bags “borrowed from another hospital”, while another said, “I hope they will do something because I heard Tembisa Hospital, Sebokeng Hospital were also facing the same problem”.
Background
The department’s claim that the shortage was a temporary one caused by “a regrettable delay in the procurement process”, resolved by July 2026, contradicted Hicklin’s account.
Hicklin previously said patients had raised the issue as early as March 2026.
The department had also said the hospital “did not receive complaints from patients relating to leakage or the quality of the stoma bags issued.”
This claim was disputed by the source, who described pouches “of the incorrect specification”.
While Mabona asserted that no patient was harmed during this period, he said “information available to the hospital indicates that a patient requested a specific brand that was not available”, which matches the source’s account.
