Johannesburg - Operations have been reduced at Helen Joseph Hospital, west of Johannesburg, because of leaking roofs, the DA in Gauteng said on Thursday.
“Anaesthetic machines cannot be used for fear of permanent damage to them, so theatre lists have been cut,” said spokesman Jack Bloom.
However, provincial health spokesman Simon Zwane said the DA had the facts wrong.
“There was no leaking roof, there was a problem with the cooling system. It has been attended to and resolved,” Zwane said.
Bloom said four operations a day had been cancelled for about two weeks.
“It is very stressful for both staff and patients to have to cancel so many operations when waiting lists are long,” Bloom said.
Zwane said that when the cooling system was being attended to patients could use other operating theatres in the hospital.
“We are confident that management has attended to the issue and handled it very well,” he said.
The patients' care was not affected when the cooling system was being fixed, Zwane said. - Sapa