Over 36 000 patients on waiting lists
WITH more than 36000 patients still on various waiting lists for their medical surgeries, the DA has called on the Gauteng premier and the Health Department to resolve the crisis.
DA’s spokesperson on Health, Bloom said: “An astounding 36 237 patients are on the waiting lists for operations in Gauteng public hospitals, with a waiting period of five years for some types of surgery.”
Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is the hospital badly affected by the waiting list, with 10900 patients still waiting to be operated on. Bloom said this was told to him by the Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a written reply to his questions in the Gauteng Legislature.
“(At) Chris Hani Baragwanath 1777 patients will wait four years and five months for hip and knee replacements,” he said.
Other hospitals with long waiting lists for surgery include George Mukhari Hospital (5 979 patients), Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (3 132 patients), Sebokeng Hospital (2 977 patients), Mamelodi Hospital (2 570 patients), Steve Biko Hospital (1 921 patients), Thelle Mogoerane Hospital (1 070 patients) and Tembisa Hospital with 1 023 patients, among many others.
He said cataract surgeries had the most number of patients on the list, with some patients having waited for more than two years at a time. This is followed by hip surgeries, with a waiting period of two to five years.
“The largest backlogs are in cataract surgery, with more than 10000 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 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,” Bloom said.
According to the DA, the MEC attributed the crisis to Covid-19, increasing number of foreigners, exodus of skilled personnel and delays in renovation of theatres, as well the crippling effects of load shedding.
The MEC said in an effort to clear the current surgical backlogs, the department has prioritised fast-tracking of critical and advanced surgeries.
“Currently the province has 32000 patients at public hospitals who are on the waiting list for various procedures, the majority of which are elective surgeries. The waiting period ranges from weeks and months for some procedures like caesarean sections, hernia repairs, cataracts, knee replacements, a year or more for procedures such as hip replacement, urethra structural, knee arthroplasty, implants and up to 10 years for organ transplants,” Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
She said clinicians constantly had to strike a balance between life-saving procedures and elective surgeries.
“We have set in place a programme to address various challenges that have contributed to the growing list of surgical backlogs. Some of the measures are short-term while others will take longer,” she said.
Even though some hospitals had eliminated these waiting lists, Bloom said the issue remained a human tragedy that needed to be eliminated.
“It’s a vast human tragedy that so many people suffer in pain while waiting for surgery. The huge backlogs are largely due to years of incompetence and corruption,” he said.