Health

.1. There are currently 77 139 surgeries which are still to take place. These are a combination of surgeries which were postponed due to COVID-19 and cases which were on the waiting list before the COVID pandemic began.

 2. [a] 77 139

 [b] It is difficult to give timelines to these as not all surgical operations are the same and hence differ in terms of how soon the backlogs can be reduced. An accelerated catch-up plan for 2022/23 has been devised and financed with R20 million. The plan seeks to rapidly reduce a substantial portion of the backlog, by rapidly procuring key enabling staff. Rural regional hospitals have increased their outreaches to smaller district rural hospitals; dedicated donor funding has been used to augment the R20million ring-fenced funding from the province; longer theatre operating hours have commenced; and increased efficiency gains to maximally utilise theatre resources have been implemented.