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Despite assurances by the Gauteng Health Department (GDoH) on 25 March 2026 that renovations to the operating theatre complex at Tambo Memorial Hospital would be completed within two months, patients have now been informed that all elective, non-emergency surgeries will only resume in June 2027.

The DA will formally write to Premier Lesufi, requesting urgent intervention to push the MEC for Health, Faith Mazibuko, to ensure that patients referred to Tambo Memorial from Boksburg, Benoni, and parts of Germiston receive necessary care for emergencies, outpatient care, and elective surgeries.

One of the patients urgently awaiting a hip replacement has approached the Democratic Alliance (DA) in desperation after her long-promised surgery failed to materialise. She is now virtually confined to her home, as even the slightest movement causes excruciating pain that leaves her in tears daily. When she inquired about the latest delay to her surgery, she was told to "just accept it" because there is nothing she can do about it.

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, given the Department of Health and the Department of Infrastructure's notorious record of delays, mismanagement, and cost overruns. Sadly, this project has proven no different.

This continued failure to organise referrals is not only unacceptable but also cruel and disrespectful to the patients in Gauteng. It is yet another reminder that merely reshuffling MECs in a deeply mismanaged department will not fix the systemic failures that have come to define the health department under Panyaza Lesufi’s government and have pushed public healthcare in Gauteng into near collapse.

The DA is the only party proven to deliver quality healthcare and prioritise patients. A DA-led Gauteng government will ensure proper referral pathways during hospital renovations to guarantee uninterrupted healthcare services, overseen by a capable Health MEC appointed by a caring and capable government.

Issued by Madeleine Hicklin MPL - DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Health