The Gauteng Department of Health has dismissed what it calls misleading and unverified claims about cardiac surgery services at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH).
This follows a recent bombshell statement by DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for health, Dr Jack Bloom, who claimed he referred the matter to health Ombud Professor Taole Mokoena for urgent independent investigation.
“Heart patients are dying due to poor surgical outcomes at the grossly mismanaged cardiothoracic department of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital, but calls for an independent commission of inquiry have been ignored,” he said.
“This has prompted the resignation of a senior surgeon in protest.”
The department, however, denied these allegations. “Contrary to the assertions, there is no evidence to support claims of a lack of transparency or a ‘cover-up’,” the department added.
It maintained that CMJAH remains a key cardiothoracic referral centre within the public health system, offering specialised and highly specialised services to patients across its catchment areas, including neighbouring provinces.
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A disputed mortality rate at the heart of the controversy
The dispute centres on sharply conflicting accounts of the hospital’s cardiac surgery mortality figures.
Bloom said his sources place the actual heart surgery mortality rate at approximately 20%, which he describes as a catastrophic failure, noting that internationally, rates exceeding 2-3% would immediately trigger a formal inquiry.
“The claim of an approximate 20% mortality rate is not backed by verified risk-adjusted clinical data and should not be viewed in isolation.”
It added that clinical outcomes in cardiothoracic surgery, including mortality rates, are evaluated using internationally accepted methods that consider patient complexity, comorbidities, and procedural risk.
“Any interpretation of data that omits these factors is fundamentally flawed and risks misleading the public,” the department added.
Bloom said he uncovered the crisis after receiving what he describes as a deliberately misleading reply to questions he posed in the Gauteng Legislature.
Bloom highlighted that an official response claimed a 72.5% decrease in mortality between 2023 and 2025, asserting a “substantial and sustained improvement in patient outcomes”, and concluded there was “no evidence of systemic failure or elevated risk that would necessitate a formal commission of inquiry”.
He contended these claims are directly contradicted by a senior cardiothoracic surgeon who resigned in protest last October.
Senior surgeon’s resignation letter raises accountability concerns
According to the DA, in his resignation letter, the unnamed senior surgeon cited persistently poor surgical outcomes, a severely compromised training environment, a breakdown in engagement with hospital authorities, and the intimidation of junior doctors.
He described his exit as “a principled protest against a system that has failed its clinicians, its trainees, and – most disturbingly – its patients.”
The surgeon allegedly also raised serious concerns about the institution’s reluctance to establish an independent inquiry.
“The continued refusal to establish a commission of inquiry raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability,” he wrote.
“This reluctance risks conveying the impression of a deliberate cover-up, further undermining trust in the integrity of our academic and clinical institutions.”
The Gauteng Department of Health pushed back on these characterisations.
“Clinical performance at Charlotte Maxeke hospital is subject to ongoing review through established governance, audit, and oversight processes created to ensure accountability and patient safety,” the department stated.
It added that concerns about clinical services, including allegations related to the training environment or workplace relations, are handled through established institutional and academic governance channels.
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Calls for suspension of department head ignored, DA claims
Prior to his resignation, the surgeon allegedly called for the immediate suspension of the head of the cardiothoracic department, Dr Tumi Taunyane, following serious grievances raised by registrars.
These included allegations of intimidation, lack of academic leadership, and multiple instances of misconduct.
Bloom said registrars formally appealed to the Dean of the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Shabir Madi, requesting urgent intervention – an appeal which he says was ignored.
When Bloom questioned the department about formal complaints against Taunyane, he says the department denied any had been submitted, while simultaneously acknowledging that the Wits vice-chancellor had raised concerns about “significant dysfunction as a result of a breakdown in relationships among several staff members, including registrars,” which could impact patient care, surgical service delivery, theatre safety, and clinical training.
“My assessment is that there is a disgraceful cover-up by both Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg hospital and Wits Medical School,” Bloom said.
Dramatic drop in surgical volumes raises further concern
Beyond the mortality rate dispute, Bloom also flagged a significant and unexplained decline in the number of heart operations performed at the hospital.
He said the department previously carried out several hundred cardiac surgeries annually but has since dropped to approximately 200 per year.
Bloom argued this reduction allows officials to claim fewer deaths, while many critically ill patients are simply not receiving life-saving surgery at all.
The department acknowledged that human resource limitations have affected service delivery, and that surgical volumes are adjusted to prevent staff fatigue and reduce risks to patient safety and clinical outcomes.
“Nonetheless, staffing issues do not suggest systemic failure, as they are managed within standard professional procedures,” the department said.
Bloom also highlighted inadequate infrastructure for cardiac patients and the knock-on effect of reduced surgical volumes on the training of registrars.
He said a proposed solution involving training partnerships with the private health sector had been turned down for reasons that remain unexplained.
DA calls for centre of excellence, not damage control
Bloom said he wrote to the Health MEC to demand disclosure of the real surgery fatality rate and has referred the matter to Health Ombud Professor Taole Mokoena for urgent and independent investigation.
He said heart surgery at CMJAH should be a centre of excellence, and that a turnaround is possible.
“It can be rescued by frankly acknowledging the problems, putting the best people in charge, and ensuring there is proper equipment for surgery,” he said.
The health department maintains that any statements about clinical performance must be supported by verifiable data, including transparent methodology, proper benchmarking, and risk-adjusted analysis.
It emphasised that as a teaching hospital, CMJAH continues to prioritise patient safety while providing specialised and super-specialised care.
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