Gauteng health denies equipment failure caused patient’s blindness at Steve Biko Academic Hospital

The Gauteng Department of Health has denied that a patient was left permanently blind because of dysfunctional equipment at Steve Biko Academic Hospital’s Eye Clinic. Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said on Monday that the patient’s condition stemmed from complications following several earlier surgical procedures, not the equipment fault. While the department only seemed to address an incident with one patient, reports say multiple have been impacted.

According to Mabona, specialists at another hospital within the Steve Biko cluster assessed the patient and operated on the eye with the better chance of retaining sight. He said the patient had been counselled that the prognosis for the other eye was already poor. “It is therefore inaccurate and misleading to attribute the irreversible loss of vision solely to the equipment and infrastructure challenges at the hospital,” Mabona said.

Mabona said the department was troubled by how the matter had been handled publicly. “The department is concerned by the continued careless handling of confidential and complex clinical matters of patients without first establishing the full facts,” he said. He acknowledged that procurement delays had affected services at the clinic, but said replacement equipment was on the way.

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Mabona added that the department remained focused on restoring services. “We continue to prioritise the restoration of affected services, the maintenance of essential infrastructure and medical equipment, and appropriate referral pathways between facilities,” he said.

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