After unpaid service providers allegedly forced the hospital to borrow emergency dialysis consumables from another state facility in order to keep patients alive, the Gauteng Department of Health has been accused of allowing Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital to enter a potentially life-threatening supply crisis. The department disputes this accusation.
According to the Democratic Alliance (DA), the crisis exposes deepening financial and procurement failures within the Gauteng Department of Health, accusing the department of downplaying a situation that left the hospital scrambling for essential medical supplies. The party claims patients requiring life-saving dialysis were placed at risk because suppliers had not been paid.
DA Gauteng spokesperson for Health Madeleine Hicklin said the crisis extended beyond sodium bicarbonate solution, alleging that Fresenius Medical Care had not supplied essential dialysis filters for intensive care patients for the past six weeks because of unpaid accounts.
"Without these critical medical supplies, patients face life-threatening complications while doctors and nurses are forced to provide care without resources."
Hicklin said senior officials, including Health MEC Faith Mazibuko and Head of Department Dr Darian Barclay, had allegedly been informed of the shortages, yet no purchase orders had been issued and the outstanding account with the supplier remained unpaid.
"This is the predictable consequence of a department drowning in financial mismanagement. As of June, this year, R743.4 million owed to suppliers remained unpaid for longer than 30 days, in clear violation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and National Treasury regulations," she said.
The Gauteng Department of Health, however, rejected claims that dialysis services had been disrupted, maintaining that contingency measures prevented any interruption to patient care despite supply shortages caused by procurement delays.
Department spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that the hospital experienced critically low levels of sodium bicarbonate solution about three weeks ago, but said reports that the hospital had completely run out of the consumable were incorrect.
"Approximately three weeks ago, the hospital experienced low levels of sodium bicarbonate solution following delays in the procurement process. Contrary to reports that the hospital had completely run out of the consumable, the facility maintained continuity of care by implementing contingency measures."
Mabona said the department also experienced supply challenges with dialysis filters used in intensive care and had temporarily sourced stock from other hospitals within its cluster to ensure treatment continued.
"While these supply challenges placed operational pressure on the service, they did not result in adverse patient outcomes. Procurement processes had been fast-tracked to replenish sodium bicarbonate solution together with approximately 60% of the outstanding dialysis filter, and delivery is expected in due course accordingly," he said.
He added that the department had prioritised measures to improve procurement planning and strengthen supply chain management following the delays.
"The Department is working closely with healthcare facilities and suppliers to safeguard the availability of essential medical consumables while ensuring that patient care remains uncompromised across all public health facilities in the province."
The Star