Patients are being left untreated for weeks and surgeries postponed amid a ballooning crisis at Bophelong Provincial Hospital in the North West, where severe staff shortages and systemic dysfunction appear to be slowly bringing the facility to the brink of collapse.
Kagiso Mangwejane, a DA councillor and chairperson of the Financial Recovery Plan committee in the Tswaing Local Municipality, was admitted to the hospital more than a month ago with a fractured femur, but despite multiple scheduled surgeries, his operation has been postponed six times – most recently due to unavailability of theatre nurses.
He described the situation as a “healthcare disaster” and accused the hospital of violating its constitutional mandate to provide timely and adequate care, reports TimesLIVE.
Mangwejane said his prolonged immobilisation has left him in constant pain and unable to fulfil his responsibilities as both a public servant and a father. He added that his was not an isolated case, and that numerous other patients faced similar delays.
Some have been discharged without being treated and instructed to wait for a call “when operating theatre space becomes available”.
“What’s happening here is more than just poor planning – it’s institutional neglect,” he said. “The system is broken. There are chronic staff shortages, internal mismanagement and a complete lack of accountability.”
He has since written urgent appeals to Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi and DA North West provincial chairperson Freddy Sonakile for immediate investigations, ministerial oversight visits and a recovery plan to address the growing crisis.
He appealed for a full audit of staff availability and surgical operations, and requested that affected patients be prioritised according to the urgency of their condition.
“This is a direct violation of the right to healthcare enshrined in our constitution,” he wrote. “Hospitals are meant to be places of healing, not harm. Our communities deserve better.”
Mangwejane wants the matter to be escalated to the North West provincial legislature and for the DA to conduct its own oversight visit.
Another patient, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing victimisation, shared a similar experience.
“I’ve been here for a month. They operated on one leg, but for the other, they say they don’t have the right tools. It’s frustrating.”
Yet another patient, admitted on 28 April, has also been waiting almost a month. He has a broken leg, dislocated feet and a back injury.
The North West Department of Health acknowledged the shortage of staff in operating theatres, and said it was “finalising the process to recruit nurses to stabilise the operating theatres by the end of June”.
To deal with the backlog, it said it would increase theatre time and the number of theatres being used over weekends.
Department spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi admitted some surgeries were being postponed multiple times, but said staff shortages were due to retirements “as well as resignations for greener pastures and unexpected sick leave”.
An average of 20 operations were cancelled or postponed in April and up till 25 May.
He said it was not standard procedure for patients to be discharged without surgery and to be told they would be contacted when the theatre becomes available.
However, patients whose conditions were not deemed emergencies were discharged after stabilisation and scheduled for elective surgery. Those needing emergency operations that could not be performed at the hospital were referred to other facilities, he added.
He said there had been resignations, suspensions and the absence of key staff affecting surgical capacity. Despite several retention measures – including the occupation specific dispensation, rural allowances, improved working conditions, competitive compensation and training opportunities – staff continued to leave for better opportunities or take unexpected sick leave.
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