Doctors at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg allegedly warned patients to seek treatment elsewhere.
Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg. Picture: Refilwe Modise/The Citizen
Patients seeking emergency care at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg were allegedly told to look for treatment at another facility after the hospital’s trauma unit head warned that the department could not guarantee safe care.
Dr Patricia Saffy, who heads the hospital’s trauma unit, reportedly posted a notice on 6 August 2026 informing patients that they would be better off going elsewhere, after the Gauteng Department of Health failed to pay its staff and some doctors stopped coming to work.
According to the notice, the emergency department would remain closed for the rest of August as a result.
Gauteng Health distances itself from notice
The DA said the situation was putting lives at risk. However, prior to the party’s concerns on 19 August, the health department had already distanced itself from the notice.
“The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has noted with concern a notice circulating on social media claiming that patients classified as Yellow (Priority 2) at Helen Joseph Tertiary Hospital’s (HJTH) Emergency Department would not be attended to and should not come to the hospital for medical care,” department spokesperson Steve Mabona said on 7 August 2026.
He emphasised that the notice had nothing to do with the hospital or the department.
Mabona said the department “sincerely apologises to patients, families and the public” for the anxiety and confusion the unauthorised communication caused.
Helen Joseph services uninterrupted
Mabona said the notice was a rogue action that disrupted patients and the wider public.
According to DA Gauteng health spokesperson Madeleine Hicklin, “Patients seeking admission to the emergency department at Helen Joseph tertiary hospital have been advised to seek treatment at another hospital.”
She added that “this is putting patients’ lives and health in danger”.
However, at the time, the department maintained that it was still receiving patients.
“The department assures the public that patients continue to be received, assessed and treated at all our hospitals in line with established clinical protocols.
“Patients presenting at the Emergency department are assessed by healthcare professionals and prioritised according to the urgency of their medical condition,” said Mabona.
It acknowledged that Helen Joseph was under operational pressure, including staffing challenges, but said this did not mean patients needing care would be turned away, and that it was working on interventions to keep services running safely.
Mabona reminded hospital staff that communication about hospital operations has to go through approved departmental channels rather than being issued independently.
“Official information is communicated through authorised Departmental Communication platforms,” he said.
Unpaid staff and unfilled posts
The DA claimed it had established that medical officers’ contracts had not been renewed, leaving many emergency department staff working without pay or valid contracts since April 2026.
The party said this had already driven at least two doctors to resign and seek work elsewhere, worsening the hospital’s shortage of trained personnel.
Hicklin argued that diverting emergency patients under these circumstances broke the law.
“Closing an emergency department or diverting patients to different facilities due to lack of medical personnel is illegal and risks the health of patients,” she said.
She noted that legally, “medical diversion can only be implemented if there are no available beds or ventilators,” meaning staff shortages alone should not trigger a diversion.
The DA linked the crisis to a wider pattern of unfilled posts at the hospital.
Citing a Health Ombudsman investigation from March 2025, the party said Helen Joseph Hospital was operating with a 30% vacancy rate, concentrated in nursing and specialised units, and had gone without permanent executive leadership for an extended period.
Hicklin said this combination of vacant posts and absent management had created both operational and human resource problems at the facility.
Outdated planning blamed for province-wide problems
Hicklin said the staffing problems at Helen Joseph Hospital reflected difficulties faced across Gauteng’s public hospital system.
She pointed to the organisational plans that determine how hospitals are staffed and funded, saying these documents were “last updated 20 years ago”.
According to Hicklin, many of the province’s 37 hospitals had already submitted updated plans for approval, but she said these submissions “have been gathering dust” in the premier’s office for at least two years.
The DA called on Premier Panyaza Lesufi to sign off on the updated plans without further delay.
“The DA calls on the Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, to apply his mind to signing off on the updated organisational plans so that adequate planning and budgeting can become standard practice,” Hicklin said.
