Western Cape faces persistent surgical backlog

Nearly 100,000 patients are waiting for surgery in the Western Cape, according to a recent report. Some cases are urgent. One example is a 77-year-old woman still in the queue at Groote Schuur Hospital for essential treatment.

Officials attribute the backlog to reduced operating capacity during the great plague of 2020, while trauma cases continue to consume limited theatre time. Staff shortages, especially among specialist nurses and anaesthetists, further constrain daily surgical output.

The result is a persistent bottleneck in elective and non-urgent procedures. Long waiting times are now common across provincial hospitals. This raises wider questions about the long-term sustainability of South Africa’s healthcare system. As older, highly skilled practitioners approach retirement, staffing pressures are likely to intensify. Medical training has not expanded fast enough to replace them.

Policy options are limited but clear. Better allocation of resources, extended theatre hours and targeted efforts to raise throughput could ease pressure. Yet policy alone may not suffice. A more decentralised healthcare system, combined with expanded medical training capacity that rewards merit and not skin colour, would help reduce future backlogs.