The Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) would like to dismiss the misleading information shared by Mr Jack Bloom regarding cancelled operations.
CMJAH would like to put it on record that there were no “more than 50 elective cases cancelled due to the cold weather conditions”. The statement by Mr Bloom creates the impression that all elective cases were cancelled, which is not true.
There were 53 operations scheduled for Monday, 10 July 2023, and 26 cases were done, while only 15 were cancelled due to low temperatures at theatres and 12 were cancelled for reasons not related to low temperatures.
Out of the 15 cancelled cases, 3 were for Thoracic, 6 were for Trauma Orthopaedic, 2 were for Paeds Orthopaedic, 1 was for Paeds plastics, and 3 were for Ear, Nose, & Throat.
The problem of temperature control has been a challenge for the facility for years, but it became worse in the last two years due to the copper theft which took place during the period when the facility was evacuated for months after the fire incident. This affected the central heating system of the facility, which regulates the level of acceptable temperatures in the entire hospital, but mostly in the theatres.
To remedy the situation, the process of installing Schedule 40 pipes, which are less susceptible to theft as they do not have an attractive market value as copper does, has started. During the installation process, the theatres and intensive care units (ICU) were prioritised. From the date of appointment, 28 June 2023, to date, the contractor has completed the installation of schedule 40 pipes for Blocks 2, 3 and 4. The installation process at Block 5 has already started and the work is progressing well, ahead of schedule.
The water system is currently running, with close monitoring, at all three blocks where the schedule 40 pipes were installed to check for any possible leaks as the system has not been running for the past two years.
The facility would like to apologise to the public for any inconvenience this might have caused. The installation of the schedule 40 pipes is a necessary project that would address the issue of copper theft and the central heating system.
The facility would further like to assure the public that this matter is getting the urgency it deserves, and cancelled cases are being attended to.
News release issued by the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital
