South Africa: Why Heart Attacks Became Deadlier in Nelson Mandela Bay

South Africa: Bureaucratic Cardiac Arrest - Why Heart Attacks Became Deadlier in Nelson Mandela Bay

By Estelle Ellis

For nine critical days, Livingstone Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay had no cardiologists on duty due to an administrative blunder, putting patients at life-threatening risk in an already struggling healthcare system.

From 1 to 9 April, not a single cardiologist for adult patients was on duty at Livingstone Hospital in Nelson Mandela Bay -- because their contracts had lapsed. On Thursday, 9 April, the crisis appeared still to be unresolved.

While lifesaving equipment, including a multimillion-rand catheterisation laboratory (cath lab), was available, it remained unused as the doctors who could operate it were not under contract.

As the primary tertiary facility for the western area of the Eastern Cape, Livingstone Hospital manages a vast patient network extending to Cradock.

Its specialist services are spread across two hospital sites, collectively known as the Livingstone Hospital Tertiary Complex. Patients are admitted at Livingstone Hospital, but those needing cardiology treatment must be transferred to the Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital, where the cardiologists are based.

The Eastern Cape Director of Communications, Siyanda Manana, said the hospital had one permanent specialist on contract, two sessional specialists, two medical officers (equivalent to GPs), and one registrar (a specialist in training).

The hospital has been struggling for years to maintain a fully staffed cardiology department.

For context: The two-year delay in finishing the cath lab in Port Elizabeth is putting lives at risk August 30, 2020...

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