Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Dr Jack Bloom MPL.
Further evidence has emerged of appalling mismanagement at the Cardiothoracic Department of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital that has led to atrocious death rates for heart surgery. This includes a call for an independent inquiry by the President of the Cardiothoracic Surgeons Society of South Africa (CSSSA).
On 28 October last year, Dr Elias Zigiriades, the President of the CSSSA, wrote to Wits University Vice-Chancellor Professor Zeblon Vilakazi after a senior surgeon resigned in protest when his call for a commission of inquiry into surgery mortality was ignored. Dr Zigiriades described the resignation as “a principled protest against systemic dysfunction”, and said he was troubled by “the apparent indifference of the Dean and his executive team, whose silence and institutional inertia in the face of these allegations signals a profound erosion of psychological safety and professional integrity.”
He continued: “As a professional society, we are charged with upholding standards of excellence, accountability and collegial protection. We cannot remain silent when one of our own is forced to choose protest over participation. We therefore urge your office to initiate an independent inquiry into the concerns raised, with full transparency and registrar representation. The credibility of the university—and the safety of its future clinicians—depends on it.”
The Vice-Chancellor’s office responded that the university’s senior management and an external mediator were dealing with it, and they were engaging with the Gauteng Health Department. Unfortunately, nothing effective has emerged from this.
I am hugely concerned about the evasive responses to my exposure two weeks ago of death rates as high as 20% for major heart surgery. Instead of providing real figures, the Gauteng Health Department referred to technical issues and avoided the evidence of poor management, inadequate supervision of registrars, and the breakdown of training. They failed to acknowledge how staffing shortages and reduced surgeries have severely impacted patient safety and the ability to produce competent specialists.
Wits Medical School has also failed to justify their inaction in this matter. They admit that mediation has only been partially successful and continue to duck the complaints of harassment and intimidation made against Cardiothoracic Department Head Dr Itumeleng Taunyane.
Meanwhile, there is no action to stop what one source describes as “a slaughterhouse” where one in five patients die from botched major heart surgery.
I have referred this matter to the Health Ombud, Professor Taole Mokoena, for investigation, but this should not delay urgent measures to address the leadership issues and resource constraints that have badly affected heart surgery at a leading hospital.
The Democratic Alliance in Gauteng will continue to push for competent management that prioritises the welfare of hospital patients.