Over 34k patients waiting for surgeries in Gauteng’s public hospitals, reveals Health MEC
Nkomo-Ralehoko said while waiting times have dropped drastically, there is still a high turnover of patients in Gauteng’s hospitals.
FILE: Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko (centre). Picture: @NkomoNomantu/X
JOHANNESBURG - There are over 34,000 patients waiting for surgeries in Gauteng’s public hospitals.
This was revealed in a legislature response by Health MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, following questions by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The MEC said while waiting times have dropped drastically, there is still a high turnover of patients in Gauteng’s hospitals.
The surgery with the longest waiting line is the cataract procedure, with over 9,000 people waiting.
This is a highly technical surgical procedure performed to improve someone’s vision by removing a cloudy lens in the eye and replacing it with a clear artificial one.
The waiting time for this surgery is between a month and two years, according to the Department of Health.
DA Gauteng Health spokesperson Jack Bloom said, “There is no progress that’s being made by the Gauteng Health Department. In fact, I think the situation is getting worse, and this is because of poor budgetary spending, staff shortages, equipment breakdowns. Gauteng Health really needs to do something very effective to fix these terribly long waiting lists.”
The Health Department said initiatives like surgery blitzes and increasing staff capacity are reducing the waiting list.