More than 50 elective cases were cancelled at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital because the heating system failed, according to the DA's Jack Bloom.
In a News24 report, Bloom said temperatures in the operating theatres were as low as eight degrees. For safety reasons, it needed to be about 18 degrees.
One of the surgeons at the hospital, who asked not to be named, said this was due to the body's temperature dropping under anaesthesia.
"This can have several potentially detrimental implications," he said. And, he added, it's "not fun" for staff to work under such conditions.
The Gauteng Health Department was not immediately able to comment on the reason for the cancellations.
However, said Bloom, emergency surgery is continuing in suboptimal conditions. This latest disruption to surgery follows 2 218 operations that were cancelled for various reasons at the hospital from January 2022 to May this year.
News24 – Charlotte Maxeke Hospital cancels 50 operations due to 'heating system failure'