a day ago
Corpses left in limbo at Helen Joseph Hospital due to a shortage of cartridges
The recent reports on service delivery issues at Helen Joseph Hospital have once again cast a spotlight on the state of Gauteng province's health challenges.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is horrified to learn that people who have died over the past 13 days at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg cannot be transferred to government mortuaries because the hospital has no printer cartridges to print the necessary documents.
The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Health, Nomanto Nkomo-Ralehoko, ensure that this hospital is stocked with adequate cartridges and resources so as not to interrupt and inconvenience any burials, adding unnecessary pain, frustration, and trauma to the families of the deceased.
As a result of this administrative incompetence, since 17 June 2025, families have not been able to claim their loved ones for burial, as postmortems cannot be undertaken and death certificates cannot be issued.
The DA has received this shocking information from credible sources who are calling for immediate intervention.
MEC Nkomo-Ralehoko must hang her head in shame. Despite her 'shouting from the rooftops', that the Gauteng Department of Health is functioning well, the fact that the paperwork for the deceased cannot be processed shows that the department is irrevocably broken.
This is also further evidence that under Panyaza Lesufi's administration, both the living and the dead are not treated with dignity in Gauteng. Because the Premier refuses to fire his MEC or see her faults, the people of Gauteng have to suffer.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would never allow families to be disrespected in this manner. We would not let consumables run out in a way that disadvantages hospitals and other government entities from executing their mandate.
Madeleine Hicklin MPL - DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Healt
