Construction work on the new catheterisation laboratory at Port Elizabeth’s Provincial Hospital has not yet started and there is some doubt as to whether it will open at the end of July as originally planned.
According to a letter sent to the hospital, the provincial Treasury needs to approve the plans before the contractor can start building.
The life-saving facility where babies born with congenital heart disease and adults who have suffered heart attacks are helped has been out of order since October.
Catheterisation is also used to take angiograms for specialists to view the heart of a patient.
The equipment has been delivered to the hospital but the space where it will be set up needs some work to make it suitable for the state-of-the-art equipment.
The old cathlab broke in October and could not be repaired.
For several months patients with heart problems could not be helped at the state facility.
In April, however, the department of health signed an agreement with Netcare Greenacres Hospital for the use of its cathlab twice a week so that doctors could assist urgent paediatric and adult cases.According to a letter sent to staff at the hospital and seen by The Herald, the reopening of the facility would be delayed by at least a month.The facility was due to open on July 28 following the issuing of a tender for construction work to accommodate the new equipment, and the staff had to be sent for training.According to the letter, the department’s chief construction project manager, Loyiso Matsiliza, said the delay resulted from funds for the project not being released.The project had been approved by the bid specification committee, but since then there has been a variation that exceeds 20% of the original price.The letter says that superintendent-general Dr Thobile Mbengashe cannot sign off on this and must approach the Treasury for approval.Despite some concerns from senior health department staff, hospital and clinical services deputy director-general Dr Rolene Wagner said she did not expect the reopening of the cathlab to be delayed.She said all the steps to approve the service provider had been approved by the department of health’s bid award committee, and the provincial Treasury should receive the documents it needs to approve the work going ahead on Monday or Tuesday.Attorney Henry Lerm said after negotiations with Wagner, it had been decided to back down, given that patients were now being treated at a private cathlab while the state’s cathlab was under construction.Lerm represents a mother whose child has a severe heart defect and had threatened to go to court over delays in the construction of a new cathlab.