By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi says the department is working hard to reverse the backlogs for surgical procedures at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
There are 11 194 patients who are waiting to undergo surgery at the hospital, Mokgethi revealed.
Mokgethi blamed a shortage of a post-operative intensive care unit and high care unit beds, insufficient theatre times and infrastructure issues, such as broken autoclaves, power outages and dysfunctional boilers, for the backlog.
Certain surgeries were also postponed during the Covd-19 pandemic.
She said the Department of Infrastructure and Property Management (DID) is currently working on fixing the theatre so minor surgeries can take place.
“Various interventions are being used to tackle the backlogs. These include dedicated weekend surgeries, an increase in arthroplasty days to three days a week for hip replacement and other joint surgeries,” said Mokgethi.
Another effort to scale down the backlog in their surgical department, the hospital will start referring surgeries to other hospitals within its cluster.
“The neurosurgery department is providing outreach programmes at lower level hospitals within the Bara cluster. These are taking place at Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Ekurhuleni and Leratong Hospital in West Rand District.”
Mokgethi also said more capacity will be available when an additional theatre at Bheki Mlangeni District starts working again.