Gauteng Health MEC Faith Mazibuko has called for a dedicated emergency paediatric theatre with dedicated anaesthetic and nursing support at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital. This follows her revelations that more than 200 children needing operations are on the paediatric waiting list at the facility, with some facing up to an alarming 30-month delay, reports The Citizen.
The figures were revealed in Mazibuko’s written response to questions submitted in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, with her reply outlining the extent of the backlog, the reasons, and the department’s proposals to slash delays.
A total of 217 children are awaiting various surgical procedures, she said, with some expected to wait more than a year before receiving treatment.
The largest group comprises 100 needing surgery for undescended testis (orchidopexy), with an average waiting time of 14.8 months. Another 35 children are waiting for inguinal hernia or hydrocele surgery, where the average wait is 10.2 months, while 28 children requiring umbilical, ventral or epigastric hernia procedures face waits of 10.6 months.
Children needing hypospadias, penile reconstruction or penoplasty are expected to wait 13.4 months, while those awaiting circumcision or treatment for phimosis face average waits of 11.3 months.
The shortest average waiting period is 8.1 months for other paediatric surgical procedures.
The department also disclosed that the longest individual wait over the past three years involves a child awaiting a left inguinal hernia repair.
“The patient was born on 25 February 2023, was booked on 27 November 2023 for surgery but has not yet been operated on,” according to the response.
Emergency cases blamed
The department blamed various factors for the backlog: limited elective paediatric theatre capacity, emergency and neonatal surgical load, anaesthetic constraints, availability of subspecialist expertise and cancellation of elective lists when urgent cases require theatre access.
It also noted that emergency surgical cases increasingly consume operating theatre time, with these increasing in number from 521 in 2023 to 758 in 2025.
“Emergencies take theatre time, cancel elective lists, and use ICU beds. As emergencies go up, electives get bumped.” Shortages of theatre staff, anaesthetists and post-operative beds have exacerbated the problem.
The legislature warned that prolonged waits can have serious consequences for young patients, including physical deterioration, developmental delays, psychological distress and poorer surgical outcomes
However, despite the growing waiting list, the number of paediatric surgeries performed at the hospital had remained relatively consistent: 2 078 surgeries in 2022, 2 032 in 2023, 2 120 in 2024 and 2 077 in 2025. Between January and the end of May this year, 740 procedures had been performed.
Dedicated theatre
The MEC said key interventions were critical, and apart from a dedicated theatre, included a protected emergency paediatric theatre list to improve access for urgent cases, reduce cancellations of elective paediatric surgery, protect elective operating time and shrink the waiting list.
“Without additional protected paediatric surgical theatre time, adequate anaesthetic cover, and reliable access to staffed operating lists, that list is unlikely to decrease meaningfully despite the best efforts of the paediatric surgical team.”
DA demands accountability
DA Gauteng health spokesperson Madeleine Hicklin said the MEC’s response had revealed “a widening crisis of delayed care” at the hospital, where patients are left “in prolonged pain and uncertainty while essential treatment is delayed”.
The party said it would table follow-up questions to Mazibuko on the recommendations for a dedicated emergency paediatric surgical theatre and dedicated anaesthetic and nursing support, and why these have not yet been implemented.
“It is difficult to accept that a child … is left for almost three years with a condition that could become critical or life-threatening,” she said.
The party added that delayed treatment was not isolated to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, and that a patient at Tambo Memorial Hospital has reportedly been waiting for more than a year for hip surgery while renovations continue at the facility.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Charlotte Maxeke repairs on track at 90%, but still two-year waiting lists
Moonlighting drains specialist care at state hospitals
Gauteng Health labelled a ‘mafia’ after hospital repair scandal exposed