The Member of Parliament, Delmaine Christians, says the impact of growing surgery backlogs at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley is having a devastating impact on the quality of life of patients and their families. It has also shone the spotlight on poor patient management and unsafe conditions. This is as a patient, Petro Louw, who has been waiting for a double mastectomy since 2019, due to a condition known as gigantomastia, was sent home without her surgery being done.  

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“After making it to number 12 on the waiting list, Petro was hopeful that she would get a new lease on life,” says Christians. Louw was told to be at the hospital on Friday morning for admission and pre-op blood tests. On arrival, there was no bed available for her and she had to sleep in the passages of the Surgical Observation Unit, with other patients awaiting a bed. It is alleged that from Friday night until Monday afternoon, she lived in the passages until she was allocated a bed.

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During her stay at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital, she was almost robbed of her belongings while asleep. Fearing for his wife's life, her husband drove from Postmasburg so that he could lock her belongings away in the car, while he slept in the car during the night. It is alleged that she was without food or liquids from Tuesday 22:00 (as per doctor’s orders) until Thursday morning when she was informed that her surgery would have to be rescheduled due to insufficient theatre staff.

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She has been scheduled to go back for another surgery on 14 May. “Petro is devastated. She cannot bear the daily pain, itching, and discomfort any longer. The thought of having to go through this whole ordeal again is also extremely distressing, as are the further financial costs and sacrifices that her family will have to go through,” Christians added.

Christians said a complaint to the MEC and acting HOD of Health in addition to questions to the National Minister of Health have been submitted. “I want to know why, despite the enormous surgery backlog in the Northern Cape, additional theatre nurses have still not been appointed and only four of the nine theatres at RMS are utilised. I also want to know why, despite the department having paid a private agency to tackle surgery backlogs by way of a surgery marathon this week, targets were not met.”

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