Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Madeleine Hicklin MPL.
Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg continues to fail patients in desperate need of essential medical supplies. Patients who rely on stoma bags or medical bags used for safely collecting bodily waste are still not receiving their full allocation. Furthermore, the supplied stoma bags are reportedly of poor quality and often leak, causing discomfort, distress, and unhygienic conditions. The hospital was alerted to the shortages by patients in March 2026. The hospital has repeatedly assured them that the issue would be resolved. Despite these assurances, the shortages persist.
This follows another scandal exposed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) concerning postponed elective and non-emergency surgeries at Tambo Memorial Hospital, leaving patients in prolonged pain, with some procedures delayed until June 2027 due to theatre renovations carried out without proper patient referrals or accountability. So far, patients who have contacted us have not received any communication regarding their urgent surgeries.
The DA reiterates its call to the Gauteng Department of Health MEC Faith Mazibuko to urgently address the supply chain failures at Tambo Memorial Hospital that continue to compromise patient care and undermine patients’ dignity.
The stoma bag shortages at Tambo Memorial Hospital were reported to the DA by a patient who was forced to purchase his own stoma bags due to inconsistent supply. He was later informed that some stoma bags had been “borrowed” from Pholosong Hospital. On 5 August 2026, he learned that a private supplier had been contracted, with 10 stoma bags provisionally allocated per patient. However, supplies would not cover all patients, and the liaison coordinator would determine who would receive them.
This is an unacceptable failure by the Gauteng Department of Health to ensure patients receive basic medical supplies. Patients should not be forced to buy stoma bags themselves, rely on another hospital’s stock, or face an arbitrary allocation process to access supplies they depend on daily.
The fact that patients are still being told there will not be enough stoma bags for everyone, months after the crisis emerged, exposes a serious failure of planning, procurement, and accountability by the Gauteng Department of Health, a concern that the DA has repeatedly highlighted, only to be met with denials.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would ensure that all patients are treated equally, that hospitals maintain adequate stock levels, and that no patient is left without essential supplies. Every patient deserves reliable access to essential medical supplies, dignity, and appropriate care – and we would afford them nothing less.