The Democratic Alliance (DA) has asked the Northern Cape Department of Health to report quarterly on the Northern Cape surgery backlog of 6 518, given the immense impact that the surgery waiting list has on patients’ quality of life.
According to a reply by Health MEC, Maruping Lekwene, during a recent question time session in the provincial legislature last week, the breakdown is as follows:
• Orthopaedics – 1200
• Oncological Surgery – 200
• Neurosurgery – 190
• General Surgery – 425
• Urology – 465
• Ear, Nose & Throat – 975
• Ophthalmology – 2 694 of which 2 060 cases are for cataracts
Delayed surgery often leads to diseases progressing and causes decreased quality of life, anxiety and disruption for patients, many of whom must give up their jobs while waiting for their turn in theatre. Delayed surgery therefore violates the right to access to health care, robbing patients of a chance at full recovery.
The provincial surgery backlog, which doubled from 4000 cases in May 2023 to 8 621 by the end of December the same year, has come down but remains unacceptably high and it will take years to bring it down to a satisfactory level.
The surgery backlog, which remains a moving target as cases fall off the list and new cases get added, must be treated as a priority and should serve as an indicator for the quality of healthcare in the province. In addition, factors contributing to the backlog, like the lack of staffing, infrastructure challenges, shortages of ambulances and patient transporters, as well as discipline issues, must also be urgently addressed.
Given MEC Lekwene’s commitment to reduce the surgery backlog, we have submitted a written request for the department to routinely include surgery backlog updates in its quarterly reports. This is necessary for us to be able to accurately and transparently monitor the department’s performance and provide an early warning system when we see the surgery backlog moving in the wrong direction.
We will also hold the department accountable for delivering on its past promise to bring doctors and nurses from other provinces to assist to address the backlog, in the new financial year.
No life should be put on hold because of an unsurmountable surgery backlog.