Long waiting times at Bertha Gxowa Hospital

The Democratic Alliance (DA)’s Gauteng Shadow MEC for health, Jack Bloom, expressed his concerns about the Bertha Gxowa Hospital.

Bloom’s biggest concern was the waiting time at the out-patients department (OPD).

“During my visit to the hospital, recently, I discovered that the waiting period at the out-patients department is too long as patients had waited for three to four hours,” he said.

Bloom alleged that there was a shortage of doctors at the hospital on the same day.

“There were only two doctors at the out-patients department instead of the seven needed,” he explained.

“Thirty patients were not seen on the Monday and had to come back the next day, and another 30 were not seen on Tuesday and had to return on the Wednesday.”

The hospital’s communications officer, Thabile Mnguni, explained the challenges that led to the delays.

“The first week of the year was a challenge as the hospital had an unexpected large influx of critical, unstable and fairly stable patients,” said Mnguni.

“Ordinarily we have five to seven doctors in the OPD, but we only had four doctors as two doctors were on leave and one doctor reported sick.

“All patients were seen by a doctor in triage and in OPD and stable patients were requested to return the following day for further assessment.

“We are aware that we have a challenge of long-waiting times particularly at the OPD.

“The bulk of the problem is largely due to the file retrieval process, which is estimated at 30 to 45 minutes.”

Bloom also said the paper filing system used at the hospital should be replaced with a modern system.

“I was disappointed that there has been slow progress towards an electronic system to replace the troublesome paper files for patients,” said Bloom.

“This is a modern hospital that should be run on a modern system.

“Waiting times should improve by April, this year, as all chronic patients will have been given booked appointment times by then.

“Patients reluctant to go to the clinics and inappropriate referrals are also among the factors contributing towards the lengthy waiting periods,” explained Mnguni.

“We are, however, working on solutions to alleviate the challenges.

“The triage system is in place to redirect patients to the appropriate level of care, including clinics.

“The hospital engages with clinics to implement the referral policy.

“The hospital is in a process of migrating to a new filing system as per the mandate of the department, the new filing system will assist towards a paperless system.”

“I hope that the promised improvements will be evident on my next visit,” concluded Bloom.

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