News24.com | Patients turned away at hospitals told to call presidential hotline as Eastern Cape runs out of equipment

Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha is turning patients with surgical needs away due to a lack of equipment.

• Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha is telling patients in need of surgery to call the presidential hotline as it has no implants or surgical equipment to operate on them.
• Suppliers have stopped providing the hospital with equipment as they are owed R52 million in outstanding payments.
• At Frere Hospital in East London, patients with broken bones must wait 10 years to get orthopaedic surgery because of a shortage of theatres.

Desperate doctors at Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha are telling patients with broken bones and deformities to call the presidential hotline because there are no implants for surgeries. 

At Frere Hospital in East London, patients must wait up to 10 years to get orthopaedic surgery due to a shortage of theatres. 

Since last week, Livingstone's orthopaedic department has been issuing patients letters informing them there was nothing it could do for them, as it had no surgical equipment or implants.

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This, because implant suppliers have stopped supplying the hospital due to them being owed tens of millions in outstanding payments.

News24 understands the Eastern Cape Department of Health owes the companies R52 million, National Health Laboratory Service R102 million, and SA National Blood Services more than R23 million.

Some of the debt dates back as far as 2019. 

In the chilling letter seen by News24, the hospital told patients: 

The letter then ends by directing patients with queries to the presidential hotline, department or Livingstone.  

Meanwhile at Frere – the second biggest hospital in the province after Livingstone – patients in excruciating pain must wait for six to 10 years to be treated because of a lack of orthopaedic theatres.

Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth said, in response to written questions from DA MPL Jane Cowley in the Eastern Cape legislature, more than 1 600 patients in need of orthopaedic surgery were on Frere's waiting list.

While the official backlog is nine years, it was more than likely closer to 10, she added.

According to Meth, children and infants would have to wait more than a year to be operated on. 

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She said the shortage of orthopaedic theatres at Frere was identified seven years ago and relevant plans were drawn up to increase the existing two theatres to four, and to also replace the condemned 40-bed wooden prefab G5 ward.

Meth added that the project could not be implemented, even in the 2023/24 financial year, due to a funding shortfall. 

Explaining how doctors deal with the shortage of theatres at Frere, she said: "The two available orthopaedic theatres must, perforce, prioritise emergency orthopaedical cases first before elective cases."

Meth added the demand for emergency procedures had increased due to injuries caused by violence and trauma.

Cowley described the situation as completely unacceptable and had written to Health Minister Joe Phaahla and the Health Ombudsman to intervene and address the province's critical surgery backlog urgently.

She said:

"Instead of obsessively creating and filling unnecessary administrative posts for corrupt and incompetent cadres who contribute nothing to the functionality of the department, priority must be given to filling medical posts and settling debts to crucial suppliers," added Cowley.

The Eastern Cape health department could not immediately respond to questions about the outstanding debt.

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Its response will be added once received. 

News24 also sent questions to the Presidency whose response will be added once received.