SURGERY CRISIS AS OPS CANCELLED AT STEVE BIKO

1629 patients wait for surgery at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria as staff shortages and budget cuts limit the number of operations that can be done.

This is revealed in a written reply by Gauteng Health MEC Hope Papo to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

Another factor is the high number of cancelled or deferred operations - 587 operations were deferred between January and July this year. This is often due to faulty equipment or staff problems.

The largest waiting lists are in Orthopaedics for joint replacement (450 patients), Opthalmology for cataracts (450 patients) and 430 cleft palate patients wait for Maxillo-facial surgery.

Waiting periods are terrible. Cleft palate patients wait up to 10 years, cataract and orthopaedic patient wait two years, general surgery is 8 to 12 months and urology patients wait between 8 and 10 months.

According to Papo, 24 of the 69 Intensive Care/High care beds are de-activated due to the shortage of theatre and ICU beds, which limits the number of operations as patients often require a post-operative ICU/High Care bed.

Another problem is that "the current high number of serious trauma cases ‘pushes out' planned elective operations on a daily basis".

Furthermore "budgetary constraints place a strict limit on the number of very expensive surgical operations that can be done". The worst affected department here is Orthopaedics.

It is very sad that patients suffer because of the surgery crisis at this major hospital. Urgent intervention is needed to ensure surgery waiting lists are brought down dramatically.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Health Spokesman, September 16 2012

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