Broken air-conditioning delays bone surgery at Steve Biko Hospital
The hospital’s orthopaedic surgery waiting list, which already has 600 patients on it, means patients can expect to wait from 18 months to two years for a hip or knee operation.
Steve Biko Hospital patients can expect to wait from 18 months to two years for a hip or knee operation. File image: iStock
Steve Biko Hospital’s air-conditioning unit, which has been broken for three weeks, has adversely affected patients with broken bones awaiting orthopaedic surgery.
The DA’s Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom says the delay is “immensely painful and frustrating” for patients, many of whom incurred injuries in road accidents.
In addition, the hospital’s orthopaedic surgery waiting list, which already has 600 patients on it, means patients can expect to wait from 18 months to two years for a hip or knee operation, Bloom says.
“This hospital has top class surgeons but equipment breakdowns and other failures often prevent them from doing their work.
“It is unacceptable that a critical air-conditioning unit is out of order for so long at a major hospital,” Bloom said, adding that it needed to be fixed or replaced as soon as possible.
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