Concerns have been raised about heart surgery outcomes at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, with the DA alleging serious problems while the Gauteng health department says outcomes have improved.
At a briefing on Tuesday, DA Gauteng shadow health MEC Jack Bloom said heart patients were dying due to poor surgical outcomes at the “grossly mismanaged cardiothoracic department”.
He said repeated calls for an independent investigation had been ignored and this had led to a senior heart surgeon resigning last year.
According to Bloom, the resignation raised concerns about “persistently poor surgical outcomes, a severely compromised training environment, a breakdown in engagement with hospital authorities and the intimidation of junior doctors”.
Bloom described the surgeon’s departure as “a principled protest against a system that ... failed its clinicians, its trainees and most disturbingly its patients”.
Bloom further alleged that there may have been a “disgraceful cover-up” and claimed the real mortality rate could be about 20%, which he said was a “catastrophic failure”.
However, the Gauteng health department gave a different view in a written reply to the legislature.
The department said there was an “overall 72.5% decrease in the mortality rate between 2023 and 2025”, showing “a substantial and sustained improvement in patient outcomes within the department”.
The department also said the data “does not indicate an abnormal or rising mortality trend” and that there is “no evidence of systemic failure or elevated risk that would necessitate a formal commission of inquiry”.
At the same time, it acknowledged the unit’s operational challenges. It noted “significant delays in surgical interventions and a substantial reduction in training and skills development opportunities” due to vacant posts.
It added there was “significant dysfunction as a result of a breakdown in relationships among several staff members, including registrars”.
According to the department, the vice-chancellor of Wits University had warned that this could affect “patient care, surgical service delivery, theatre safety and the broader clinical training platform”.
On patient safety, the department said there were “no recorded cases of patients being harmed or dying in the ICU as a result of registrars being left unsupervised at night”.
The written response noted that many patients were waiting for surgery. According to the department:
- 31 patients are waiting for bypass surgery with a wait of 16 weeks; and
- 29 patients are waiting for valve replacements with a 14-week wait.
The department said it was trying to fill vacant posts but in some cases, “no applications were received”.
Bloom said he had referred the matter to health ombud Taole Mokoena for an “urgent and independent investigation”.
TimesLIVE has contacted the dean of health sciences at Wits for comment and the response will be published once received.
TimesLIVE
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