Gauteng gets R67bn to fix hospitals, slash waiting times and rescue public health

The Gauteng Department of Health has been allocated a R67 billion budget for the 2025-26 financial year to improve service delivery, strengthen infrastructure, and address pressing health needs across the province.

Gauteng MEC for health and wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, presented the department’s post-budget speech media briefing at the provincial legislature on Tuesday.

“This budget affirms our commitment to strengthen services, improve infrastructure, and address priority health needs across the province,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.

Infrastructure, digital expansion, and forensics

According to Nkomo-Ralehoko, R1.7 billion has been earmarked for hospital maintenance and new capital projects.

Of this, R100 million will go toward upgrading laundry services and operating theatres, with refurbishments already underway at Carletonville and Bheki Mlangeni hospitals.

“[Projects include] the Daveyton new hospital, Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital with 287 new mental health beds, and the upgrading of Johan Heyns Community Health Centre into a district hospital to meet the needs of the community,” she added.

The department is scaling up its hospital digitisation programme at Chris Hani Baragwanath to 36 more facilities

“This project is a catalyst for skill transfer for 100 young people in the local communities, bringing economic opportunity and community ownership.”

Forensic Pathology Services will implement biometric tagging and fingerprint integration for enhanced traceability.

Two LowDox machines, valued at R14 million, will enhance non-invasive forensic diagnostics.

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Mental health, maternal care and human resources

A total of R484.1 million is allocated for mental health services this year, increasing to R1.4 billion over the medium term.

“We added 400 long-term care beds, bringing total capacity to 1 930 and expanded occupational therapy and psychosocial rehabilitation services at Tara Hospital,” the MEC stated.

Primary Health Care receives R38.4 billion, with maternal and child health prioritised to reduce preventable maternal and perinatal deaths.

To address staffing shortages, the department is investing in nurse training.

“We have prioritised the training of nurses in our colleges, 500 professional nurses, 200 midwifery undergraduates, and 90 postgrads in midwifery will be trained by December.

“Given our resource constraints, we will fill all critical posts in a phased-in manner,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.

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Surgical backlog, HIV and TB programmes

According to the MEC, a major innovation this year is the Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG), which will provide patients with a timeline for their surgical procedures during their first booking.

In honour of Mandela Day, observed on 18 July, clinical teams will perform around 1 000 surgeries on cataracts, prostate cancer, cleft palates, and colostomy reversals.

In the fight against HIV and TB, R5.4 billion is budgeted. Currently, 95% of people living with HIV know their status, and 76% of those are on treatment.

In addition, the department aims to re-engage more than 326 000 people in treatment and test 900 000 for TB by December.

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Cost management and looking ahead

Efforts to reduce medico-legal claims have seen contingent liabilities drop from R24.7 billion in 2019-20 to R7.2 billion in 2024/25.

“We are shifting focus from paying for errors to preventing them,” said the MEC.

Concluding her address, Nkomo-Ralehoko emphasised accountability and impact.

“This budget is for impact and delivery… to ensure dignity and care remain central to our service.”

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