SA hospitals have a backlog of 175,024 elective surgeries

A total of 175,024 people are waiting to have surgery in SA's public hospitals. The health department said the number ballooned over the past two-and-a-half years mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a virtual briefing where health minister Joe Phaahla was being updated on the state of hospitals, Dr Nonhlanhla Makhanya, the department's chief nursing officer, on Wednesday presented the department’s progress report on interventions to reduce the elective surgery backlogs.

“There was a moratorium on all elective surgery to accommodate the influx of Covid-19 patients and this has already hit the increased backlog. The moratorium on elective surgery was, however, lifted in 2021, and a plan to [reduce] backlogs was put in place as well as measures to deal with emergency surgery and electives concurrently.”

Strategies put in place include hospitals rescheduling non-emergency operations, theatre services being provided over weekends and extended theatre hours.

“Patients are booked six months in advance according to the capacity available and quality of life [and] the waiting list is constantly being reviewed.”

The Western Cape has the highest backlog with 77,139, Limpopo is at 45,690 and KwaZulu-Natal has 17,903. The Free State has the lowest at 2,947, Mpumalanga has 3,005 and the Northern Cape 4,000. 

Gauteng is on 13,433, North West 5,531 and the Eastern Cape 5,373.

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