The Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused the Gauteng Department of Health of misleading the public over the impact of delays in refurbishing operating theatres at Tambo Memorial Hospital.
The party says patients have been told elective surgeries will only resume in June 2027 despite official assurances that services have not been significantly affected.
According to the DA, the prolonged delays left patients waiting in severe pain while the department failed to implement referral plans to other healthcare facilities.
The dispute follows earlier assurances by the Gauteng Department of Health in March that renovations to the hospital’s operating theatre complex would be completed within two months.
However, in written replies to questions submitted in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, Health MEC Faith Mazibuko confirmed that the refurbishment is now only expected to be completed by 31 October 2026.
Despite acknowledging the construction delays, Mazibuko maintained that surgical services had not been substantially disrupted.
According to the MEC’s replies, the hospital continues to perform surgeries at a theatre utilisation rate of about 90%, while no emergency surgery patients have required referral to other facilities.
But DA Gauteng health spokesperson Madeleine Hicklin said the MEC’s responses were inconsistent with what patients were being told.
“The MEC’s reply is riddled with contradictions. She cannot concede that the operating theatre refurbishment is months behind schedule while insisting that surgical services have not been affected,” Hicklin said.
“If the delays have had no impact, why are patients being told their elective surgeries will only resume in June 2027?”
The DA said one patient waiting for a hip replacement had approached the party after being informed of the lengthy delay.
According to Hicklin, the patient has been left largely confined to her home because of severe pain while continuing to wait for surgery.
“The truth is painful and there for all to see,” she said.
The party said it had repeatedly raised concerns in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, urging the department to refer patients awaiting elective procedures to other hospitals while renovations were underway.
It argued that the failure to establish referral pathways had unnecessarily prolonged patients’ suffering.
“The continued failure to arrange referrals is not only unacceptable but also cruel to patients left waiting in pain,” Hicklin said.
She added that the delays demonstrated broader management failures within the provincial health department.
“It is yet another reminder that simply reshuffling MECs cannot fix a department crippled by systemic mismanagement.”
The DA said it intends raising the matter before the Gauteng Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Health and will write to Premier Panyaza Lesufi demanding that patients awaiting elective procedures be referred elsewhere until the theatre complex is fully operational.
