Charlotte Maxeke dialysis shortage: Gauteng health denies crisis amid blame for unpaid suppliers
· Citizen
The Gauteng Department of Health on Tuesday said dialysis services at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital had continued without interruption despite recent supply challenges affecting some dialysis consumables.
Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the hospital had experienced low levels of sodium bicarbonate solution roughly three weeks earlier, following delays in the procurement process.
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He said contingency measures had kept the service running.
“Contrary to reports that the hospital had completely run out of consumables, the facility maintained continuity of care by implementing contingency measures. As a result, no dialysis treatments were missed, no procedures were cancelled or postponed,” Mabona disputed.
However, this account was contradicted by the DA, which said the hospital had completely run out of sodium bicarbonate solution, a component it described as essential for daily dialysis treatments, and had been forced to borrow emergency supplies from Helen Joseph Hospital to sustain patient care.
DA’s Gauteng spokesperson for health and member of the provincial legislature, Madeleine Hicklin, accused the department of denying the severity of the situation.
ICU filter shortage confirmed by department
Mabona said the supply of dialysis filters used in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit had been disrupted by the same procurement delays.
He said the hospital had sourced supplies from other facilities within its cluster to limit the impact on patients.
“The department also confirms that the supply of dialysis filters used in intensive care was affected following regrettable delays in procurement processes. To minimise any potential disruption to patient care, the hospital temporarily sourced supplies from facilities within its cluster,” he said.
Mabona added that procurement had since been fast-tracked, with delivery of most of the outstanding filters expected soon, saying that “approximately 60%” of the outstanding dialysis filters are expected to be delivered in due course.
However, the DA gave a starker account of the filter shortage, saying supplier Fresenius Medical Care had not delivered filters used for continuous dialysis in the ICU for six weeks because the department had failed to settle its account.
Hicklin warned this had put patients at serious risk.
“Without these critical medical supplies, patients face life-threatening complications while doctors and nurses are forced to provide care without resources,” she said.
DA alleges senior officials knew of the crisis
Hicklin claimed that both the head of department, Dr Darian Barclay, and MEC for Health Faith Mazibuko had been made aware of the filter shortage but had failed to act.
“Yet no purchase orders have been issued, and no payments have been made to FMC for the outstanding balance owed to the company,” she said.
The DA tied the shortages to broader financial mismanagement in the department, citing figures showing that R743.4 million owed to suppliers had remained unpaid for longer than 30 days as of June 2026, which it said breached the Public Finance Management Act and National Treasury regulations.
Hicklin said the party would formally question the health MEC over the failure.
“We will table questions to the Gauteng Health MEC, Faith Mazibuko, to determine why the accounting officer failed to ensure the supplier was paid on time and what consequence management will follow,” she said.
Department says no patients harmed, reforms under way
Mabona maintained that, despite the operational pressure caused by the delays, no patients had come to harm.
“While these supply challenges placed operational pressure on the service, they did not result in adverse patient outcomes,” he said.
He said the department was taking steps to prevent similar problems. “Measures are also being implemented to strengthen procurement planning, improve turnaround times and enhance supply chain management to minimise the risk of similar occurrences.”
Hicklin said the DA would keep pressing the department on the issue and accused it of trying to suppress scrutiny.
“We will continue exposing these failures and holding MEC Mazibuko and her department accountable. We will not be intimidated by attempts to silence whistleblowers or dismiss legitimate concerns,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mabona said the department remained committed to working with hospitals and suppliers to protect the availability of essential medical consumables across the province, saying it was “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.”