Over 36k patients await surgery at Gauteng hospitals, DA wants Lesufi to intervene
The DA in Gauteng has called on Premier Panyaza Lesufi to intervene in the surgery backlog at public hospitals.
According to Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko over 36 000 patients are waiting for surgery.
Nkomo-Ralehoko revealed this in a written reply to DA questions in the Gauteng legislature.
A total of 36 237 patients are on the waiting lists for operations at Gauteng public hospitals, with a waiting period of five years for some types of surgery.
Chris Hani Baragwanath has the largest waiting list - 10 900 patients in total, including 1777 patients who will wait 4 years and five months for hip and knee replacements.
The largest backlogs are in cataract surgery, with more than 10 000 patients who will wait up to two years at the Steve Biko and George Mukhari hospitals, but six months or less at the Tembisa, Kalafong, Pholosong and Mamelodi hospitals.
The DA’s Jack Bloom says this is nothing less than a provincial crisis.
"The worst waiting times are for hip and knee replacements, which will mostly take from two to five years although some hospitals do them in less than a year. Load-shedding has also adversely impacted surgery, and linen shortages often cause operations to be cancelled.
"Some hospitals have done well with surgery marathons in reducing the backlogs e.g. Kalafong hospital eliminated their cataract backlog by doing 151 cataract surgeries in October last year. It’s a vast human tragedy that so many people suffer in pain while waiting for surgery.”
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