Charlotte Maxeke cancellations: what Johannesburg patients need to know

What happened

Patients and public officials have been alarmed after the Democratic Alliance revealed that more than 3 000 operations were cancelled at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital since January last year. The cancellations were disclosed by DA Gauteng legislature member Jack Bloom in a written reply from Gauteng Health MEC Faith Mazibuko.

Scale and impact

The DA’s figures show a widespread problem across specialties. Bloom said 3 050 cancellations affected multiple departments, including 596 in General Surgery, 590 in Paediatrics, 470 in Vascular and Hand Surgery, 249 in ENT and 235 in Urology. He warned of human consequences for patients waiting long periods for care.

“Behind these numbers are real people in pain, their lives on hold while they wait for sight to be restored, limbs repaired, tumours removed, or disfigurements corrected,”

Bloom also highlighted particular pressure in orthopaedics, reporting 1 773 patients waiting between six and 18 months, and said 490 children were still awaiting operations.

Why cancellations are happening

Gauteng Health’s written reply, cited by Bloom, attributes the cancellations to several operational constraints. Key drivers include:

• Shortage of ICU and high-care beds required for post-operative care
• Recurring infrastructure failures
• Persistent staffing shortages
• Patient-related factors such as not being ready, failing to attend or declining procedures

Provincial response and reforms

In response to criticism, the Gauteng Department of Health pointed to the rollout of its Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) system and broader corrective actions. The department said the TTG platform tracks patients from assessment through to completed procedures, improving waitlist visibility, prioritisation, accountability and theatre utilisation.

“The platform enables hospitals to track patients from the assessment stage through to booked procedures and completed surgeries, thereby improving visibility of waiting lists, patient prioritisation, accountability and theatre utilisation,”

The department said that since the TTG’s rollout it had logged 87 835 surgical procedures across Gauteng public hospitals. It listed procedure volumes by speciality, including 41 520 in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 9 712 in Orthopaedics and 8 900 in Ophthalmology. Other counts included 3 464 General Surgery, 2 912 Paediatric Surgery and 1 593 ENT.

Waiting list and capacity

The department’s data shows continued mismatch between demand and capacity. The provincial surgical waiting list was reported at 43 421 patients across Gauteng public hospitals. The breakdown provided included:

• 29 098 legacy cases captured manually before the TTG
• 761 current cases now recorded on the TTG
• 5 443 patients on registration lists awaiting assessment and scheduling
• 8 199 patients already booked for theatre

The department said it currently employs 492 full-time surgeons, supported by four part-time or periodical surgeons and 110 surgical trainees.

Measures being taken

Gauteng Health listed a range of actions intended to reduce cancellations and clear the backlog. These include using the TTG to prioritise cases, running surgical marathons and weekend catch-up programmes, extended theatre sessions, targeted blitzes, and efforts to strengthen equipment maintenance, fill vacancies and improve operational oversight and cluster hospital arrangements.

“The Department continues to utilise the TTG platform to improve prioritisation and management of these cases in order to accelerate patient access to surgical care,”

Political response

The DA has called for urgent action and accountability. Bloom said the situation at a flagship hospital required immediate intervention and urged the filling of critical vacancies and equipment upgrades, including more ICU beds, to reduce cancellations and cut backlogs.

What patients in Johannesburg should know

• Cancellation levels at Charlotte Maxeke have been disclosed as over 3 000 since January last year, with an entrenched cancellation rate between 23 and 25% according to the DA.
• The provincial health department is using the TTG system to track patients and says it has recorded 87 835 procedures on the platform since rollout.
• The overall provincial waiting list stands at 43 421 people, and the department is running targeted programmes to increase theatre capacity.

Readers should follow updates from Gauteng Health and hospital communications for information about scheduled procedures and any rescheduling notices.