Note to Editors: Attached please find a soundbite in English here by Madeleine Hicklin MPL.
• Patients face delays to elective surgeries at Tambo Memorial Hospital until June 2027.
• The MEC’s written replies contradict patients’ experiences.
• The DA demands urgent patient referrals and accountability for the ongoing failures.
The Gauteng Department of Health’s (GDOH) assurance on 25 March 2026 that renovations to the operating theatre complex at Tambo Memorial Hospital would be completed within two months has fallen short, with patients now told that all elective, non-emergency surgeries will only resume in June 2027. For patients awaiting procedures, this means another year of prolonged pain and an uncertain future.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has repeatedly raised this issue in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) and tabled several written questions to Health MEC Faith Mazibuko, calling for urgent action to ensure that patients requiring elective surgery at Tambo Memorial Hospital are referred to other healthcare facilities to receive necessary emergency care.
The written replies received from MEC Mazibuko confirm that refurbishments have not been completed within two months as previously committed. The estimated date of completion is now 31 October 2026. Remarkably, the MEC denies that the hospital has postponed surgical procedures, citing a theatre surgical rate of 90%. She also confirms that there have been no referrals for patients in need of emergency surgery.
See the replies here, here and here.
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. If the delays have had no impact, why are patients being told their elective surgeries will only resume in June 2027?
The truth is painful and there for all to see. One of the patients still waiting for a long-promised hip replacement has approached the DA in desperation. She is with us today at this press conference after being left virtually confined to her home, where even the slightest movement causes excruciating pain.
The DA has previously condemned the department for failing to arrange proper referral pathways for patients awaiting elective surgeries during the renovation period. We have also been sceptical of the proposed two-month timeframe, and our concerns have now been validated.
The continued failure to arrange referrals is not only unacceptable but also cruel to patients left waiting in pain. It is yet another reminder that simply reshuffling MECs cannot fix a department crippled by systemic mismanagement.
The DA will continue to expose MEC Mazibuko’s lies and raise this matter at the health portfolio committee. We will also write to Premier Panyaza Lesufi demanding referrals for patients who have been waiting in pain for elective surgeries.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would put patients first by ensuring that hospital renovations never interrupt access to healthcare. Through proper planning, effective referral systems, and accountable leadership, patients would receive the care they need without being left to suffer due to ongoing refurbishments.