NO STEAM, NO GAS, SO OPS CANCELLED AT HELEN JOSEPH

Operations at the Helen Joseph Hospital in west Johannesburg have been cancelled this week because of equipment breakdown. On Monday, surgery was delayed for three hours because of a problem with anaesthetic gases.

Seventy four years old Mrs Zubeida Bhabha was one of six breast cancer patients whose surgery was cancelled that day. I was contacted by her son Yunis Moolla who described to me how traumatic this was for her and her family.

On Tuesday, the problem was lack of steam for the autoclaves that sterilize surgical instruments and gowns. This was because the boiler had failed.

The two autoclaves give constant trouble and sterilization often has to be done at the nearby Rahima Moosa Hospital. I visited the hospital and spoke to staff who told me that equipment failure occurred often and was highly stressful.

Three orthopaedic operations and one plastic surgery had to be cancelled on Tuesday because of the steam problem. The waiting time for a knee operation is 18 months, so it is a terrible blow when this has to be postponed.

The root of the problem is poor maintenance such as led to sewage spilling over into the corridors of this hospital late last year. I see little sign that this is being tackled effectively, so crises will continue to erupt at various hospitals in Gauteng.

Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Health Spokesman, February 9 2011

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