5 years for hip and knee ops at Bara Hospital

31 July 2019

6083 patients have been waiting for surgery for more than 6 months at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital and the waiting time for hip and knee operations is 5 years.

These disturbing figures were given by Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku in an oral reply to my questions in the Legislature yesterday.

According to Masuku, there are 828 patients on the waiting list for a hip replacement and 1141 patients are waiting for knee surgery. They will only be able to have their operations in 5 years time.

The waiting time for 3308 patients who require cataract surgery is 12 months.

Masuku said that long waiting lists are due to the non-availability of theatre time, inefficient use of the theatres, a shortage of staff particularly scrub and theatre nurses, and high staff absenteeism.

These long waiting times cause immense distress to suffering people dependent on public health care. Imagine being told that your hip operation is scheduled for August 2024!

I hope that every effort is made to cut these unacceptably long waiting periods for surgery at our largest hospital.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Health MEC, 31 July 2019