Cardiac patients at the Steve Biko Hospital are waiting for weeks for surgery due to only 4 out of 11 theatres being functional, according the Democratic Alliance's MPL Jack Bloom.
It is unclear why so many theatres are unable to be used but the waiting time is three weeks for a simple angiogram procedure. Both doctors and patients are frustrated by the delays in doing essential heart surgery. Some of the patients have spent weeks at the cardiac ward waiting for their operations.
This follows a problem of broken lifts at the hospital in September which was greatly inconvenient for sick people. Broken machinery is unfortunately a common problem in state hospitals in Gauteng because of poor maintenance.
Last month more than 100 operations were cancelled at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital because of broken air-conditioning. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to massive surgery backlogs that need to be cut as soon as possible, but this can only be done if all machinery is well-maintained and functional.