Wits appoints independent mediator after Bloom’s damning allegations
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health Jack Bloom accuses the Gauteng Health Department of being evasive.
In response to damning allegations by the DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, Jack Bloom, about alleged mismanagement in the cardiothoracic department at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital, the University of the Witwatersrand confirmed on April 16 that it had appointed an independent mediator.
Bloom claimed the department’s poor surgical outcomes have led to high death rates for heart surgery, implicating Wits Medical School’s medical registrars.
Bloom held a media briefing on March 31 outside Johannesburg Academic Hospital, calling for an urgent independent commission of inquiry into patients allegedly dying due to poor surgical outcomes in the cardiothoracic department.
He said a now-resigned senior surgeon had raised concerns about the unit. When Bloom asked the Gauteng legislature about the surgeon’s complaints, the reply was: “No formal complaints were submitted by staff members. However, the hospital is aware of concerns raised by the vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.”
Bloom further alleged a cover-up by the hospital and Wits Medical School.
Dean of Health Science, Shabir Madhi, responded, “The university appointed an independent mediator to mediate between the registrars and the head of department, which yielded partial success. Also, the university has instituted an inquiry into the academic programme and the training of the registrars.”
In another statement on April 14, Bloom said further evidence had emerged, including a letter from Dr Zigiriades, the president of the Cardiothoracic Surgeons Society of South Africa, to Wits vice-chancellor Professor Zeblon Vilakazi.
Zigiriades wrote after the senior surgeon resigned in protest when his call for a commission of inquiry into surgery mortality was ignored.
Bloom noted that Zigiriades described the resignation as ‘a principled protest against systemic dysfunction’ and said he was troubled by ‘the apparent indifference of the dean and his executive team, whose silence and institutional inertia in the face of these allegations signals a profound erosion of psychological safety and professional integrity’.
Bloom reiterated his concern about evasive responses from the Gauteng Health Department to his exposé of alleged high death rates for major heart surgery.
The Department of Health challenged Bloom’s remarks on April 1, stating, “Clinical outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery, including mortality rates, are evaluated using internationally accepted methods that consider patient complexity, comorbidities, and procedural risk.”
The department added that any interpretation of data omitting these factors was flawed and risked misleading the public.
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