The Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg. (Photo: Jana Smit/Maroela Media)
Fewer patients are undergoing heart surgery at the Charlotte Maxeke State Hospital in Johannesburg. This state of affairs is attributed to a “shameful cover-up by the hospital and the Wits Medical School” because people in a critical condition simply do not receive surgery.
Dr. Jack Bloom, the DA’s spokesperson for health in Gauteng, says figures show a 72.5% decrease in deaths between 2023 and 2025, which the Gauteng legislator described in response to questions as “substantial sustained improvement in patient outcomes”, but that far fewer heart operations are performed at the hospital.
Bloom says that while heart patients are dying due to poor surgical outcomes due to “gross mismanagement” at the hospital’s cardiothoracic department, several appeals to appoint an independent commission of inquiry have been ignored.
“According to my sources, the true heart surgery death rate is about 20%, which is a catastrophic failure”. Bloom says overseas death rates that are higher than two to three percent will lead to an immediate investigation.
A senior cardiothoracic surgeon resigned last October because of this issue, according to Bloom. “In his resignation letter, he cites persistent poor surgical outcomes, a training environment that is seriously compromised, a breakdown in discussions with hospital authorities and the intimidation of junior doctors.”
The surgeon labels the events at the hospital and continued refusal to appoint a commission as a situation that raises serious questions about transparency and accountability. According to the surgeon, the hesitation creates the impression of “a deliberate cover-up that compromises confidence in the integrity of our academic and clinical institutions”.
Bloom said at a media conference held outside this hospital in Parktown on Tuesday morning that he had written to the MEC of Health to reveal the actual surgical death rate. “I have also referred the issue to Prof. Taole Mokoena, the ombud for health for urgent and independent investigation.”
Dr. Jack Bloom, the DA’s spokesperson for health in Gauteng. (Photo: Jana Smit/Maroela Media)
In the past, the hospital’s department performed hundreds of heart operations annually, but Bloom says this figure has decreased to around 200 per year. “The decline allows officials to report fewer deaths, when the reality is that seriously ill patients are not receiving life-saving surgery at all.”
Before the surgeon resigned, he asked that Dr. Tumi Taunyane, head of the cardiothoracic department, was immediately suspended after serious grievances were lodged by registrars, including allegations of intimidation, a lack of academic leadership and several incidents of misconduct.
According to Bloom, medical doctors who receive specialist training prof. Shabir Madi, the dean of the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences, officially approached to intervene urgently. “The request was ignored.”
Bloom says poor infrastructure for heart patients at the hospital and the inability to provide specialist training for medical doctors because so few surgeries are performed are other issues. “The solution is to provide training in the private health sector, but the proposal was rejected for inexplicable reasons.”
The Department of Health has been approached for comment. The comments will be updated as soon as they are received.